SIU - The Sailor Investigation Unit
by Dark Day For Anime
Summary: Sailormoon/Silent Mobius Crossover - The Senshi are hunted by the Sailor Investigation Unit, a front for darker forces.
1. SIU part 1: Death Warmed Up

S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Bandai and Kodansya. All  
other characters were thought up by me. Well, its true, isn't it?  
  
  
Part One  
Death Warmed Up  
  
  
It wasn't really fair, thought DCI Kikotsuka as she sat in the  
unmarked police car, staring through the rain-splattered window at  
the front of the hotel.  
  
At 28 years of age, almost 29 now, Kikotsuka Aoi had found   
herself in a promotional dead-end. The Sailor Investigation Unit,  
S.I.U. for short. The laughing stock of the entire police force.  
For someone who had spent much of their late teens and early   
twenties focused on making a career for themselves at the expense  
of their private lives, it was shattering for her to find the glass  
ceiling alive and well. Bad pun, she thought.  
  
Not that that was unexpected, this was Japan, after all. Not   
a nation noted for its great career prospects for women, especially  
when it came to the Major Crime unit, which had been her ultimate   
objective. Something she wasn't likely to reach now.  
  
The S.I.U. wasn't a bad concept in itself. In fact, it was  
seen as an important information gathering arm of the department.  
It had been created as a temporary unit of no more than three   
officers to keep tabs on the activities of of the Sailorsenshi, or,  
more correctly, Sailormoon. At least there had only been one of the  
bitches at the time, now there was something close to a small army.   
Aoi chuckled darkly. Well, there was one less to investigate now.  
  
She heard a knock at the door window and wound it down as   
Akunatuska Kaji smiled at her through it. Her burly, middle-  
aged partner had absolutely no sense of occasion. She often   
wondered why she had been partnered with the moron. They had   
absolutely nothing in common outside their duties. Often leaving  
to go home was something to look forward to if it meant not having  
to see him, or listen to his depressed tirades over his separation  
from his wife. A situation she understood entirely.  
  
"What do you want now?" She asked huffily.  
"What? You still mad at me?" He chuckled.  
"Of course I'm still mad at you."  
"I only mentioned to Burou that you'd once auditioned to be an  
idol singer." He shrugged his shoulders. "What's wrong with that?"  
"Not that, you goit!" She took a deep breath. "You going  
over my head to the chief when the call came in about this."  
"Oh that. Sorry. Its not often you get to see one of the   
Sailors live in the flesh. Or dead in the flesh, as the case may   
be."  
"Bad joke." Aoi sniffed. "So what she look like? Messy?"  
"Yeah. Akito and Shinji are taking the shots now. Why don't  
you come in and take a look for yourself?"  
"I can guess what her body looks like. I have seen bodies  
before."  
"Yeah right." He stood up. "Fat lot of good playing aloof is  
gonna do our cause, Kiko-san."  
"Are you saying I'm squeamish?"  
"No, I'm saying you're still upset because I got here first."  
"Yeah, right."  
  
Aoi opened the door of the car and Kaji stepped back to give  
her some room. As she got out she looked back at the police cordon,  
and the small crowd of people and media that had gathered.  
  
"Have the brass fed the chooks yet?"  
"Nah. All that has been let out was that a body was found.  
No specifics."  
"Good. It'll give us some time before the others start   
looking for her."  
"What do you mean?" Kaji frowned at her as she turned back to  
him.  
"There is a chance they don't know she's dead. The Sailors, I   
mean."  
"What? Them? Never." He pointed to the crowd. "They're  
probably amongst that lot. Well, one or two of them, watching us  
right now."  
"We can't take any possibility for granted." Aoi shut the  
door of the car and stepped around him, pausing to look back.   
"Well, are you coming?"  
"Where?"  
"Inside, stupid. I've decided to have a look for myself."  
"Yeah yeah yeah. I hear you." He said tiredly.  
  
  
He had been right. It was messy.  
  
Lying on the King-size bed was the decerebrated corpse of a  
young woman.... A Sailorsenshi. It looked like a dead set case of  
suicide. The girl still held the shotgun she'd apparently used to  
finish herself off with, both barrels discharged. Aoi rubbed her  
eyes and sighed as other officers, mostly from Major Crime and the  
local CID, poured over the scene.  
  
"Told you. I told you it was messy." Kaji sniffed and put  
his hands in the pockets of his overcoat.  
"I heard you the first time." Aoi stepped up to the bedside  
as one of the Majors, Shimazaki, who had been going over the scene,   
picking around for pieces of evidence, smiled at her.  
  
"Hey, Kiko-san, you're going to love some of the stuff we  
found here."  
"What?" She stared at the younger man, in his mid-twenties.  
The kind of bright spark that was on his way up the ranks and really  
shitted her off.  
"If what we found around her was any sign, she's stuck enough  
narcotics into her system to kill a herd of elephants. Some   
illegal, some prescription, but mostly over the counter stuff. Be   
interesting when the report gets back from the coroner."  
  
"You're sure that she took them all?"  
"Nope."  
"Hmm?"  
"From what the owners of the motel said, more than one person  
had booked into the room. They didn't see her at the time, though.  
She must have been slipped in afterwards."  
"Were the others young women?"  
"Nah, a couple of youths, coundln't have been much older than  
eighteen, the both of them. One was tall, pretty thin and reedy.  
The other was a this heavy type. Dressed well, they said, like  
Yakuza."  
  
"Yakuza? Great, just what we need." Aoi shook her head.   
"Puts a whole new light on things."  
"What do you mean?"  
  
Kaji stepped up beside Aoi. "About a month back, the Sailors  
were involved in busting a narcotics ring one of the families had  
set up. Twenty members, including the local boss, went down for  
that one. This could be a retaliation."  
"In which case we're looking at homicide rather than suicide."  
"Indeed." Aoi scratched her head, feeling somewhat tired with  
life all of a sudden. The concept of a war between the Sailors and  
the Yakuza was the kind of enthralling news she needed right now.  
  
Shimazaki leaned forward over the bed and fingered the fabric  
of the corpse's fuku skirt with his gloved hand. "Strange fabric."   
He muttered. He stopped and looked back at Aoi.  
  
"Well, you're the experts. Is this really one of the Sailors   
or just some poor cow whose got herself mixed up in things?"  
"That's one of them, alright. The uniform, the physical body  
shape, the colour of the hair. What hair colour we can see." Aoi  
screwed up her nose, not trying to gawk at the head of the corpse.  
Horrified fascination was hard to stifle in situations like this.  
"Even the face. It all matches with the evidence we have."  
"Big break for you guys, finally being able to catch one.  
Pity she had to die for it to happen." Shimazaki grinned. Right  
at that moment, Aoi could have socked him one.  
  
Kaji took Aoi by the arm. "Come on, there's nothing more we  
can do until they've finished."  
"What do you mean, nothing more to do?"  
He didn't answer, just dragged her from the room. Shimazaki  
watched them to go, shaking his head. Course there was nothing more  
for them to do. All SIU were nothing more than glorified   
librarians, wouldn't know jack about real crimes like this.  
  
He turned and looked back at the corpse, then noticed   
something lying just under her shoulder.... He reached over and   
lifted her slightly. It appeared to be a kind of pen. An   
ornamental one, of course, but a pen all the same. Slowly, he  
eased the pen out with his gloved hand and placed it tentatively in  
a plastic bag, all the while one of the police photographers   
covering his actions.  
  
  
  
  
Kaji had opted to drive, and Aoi had protested. In fact, she  
had whinged and whined ever since they left the scene at the motel.   
He was used to it, though. If there was anything about Aoi he DID  
understand, it was her persistent necessity to get things off her   
back by vocalising them.  
  
When they hit the motorway, however, she went quiet.   
Worryingly quiet. He looked aside at her, and saw her sitting,   
slightly hunched in her seat.  
  
"You'll get a bad back if you do that too often."  
"Ha Ha Ha." She droned humourlessly.  
"So what are you mulling over this time? I hate it when you  
go into the long silences."  
  
"Its just the girl. The Sailor."  
"What about her?"  
"She looked so young."  
"That's probably because she is. Reports indicate the   
likelihood that most of the Sailors aren't yet 18. She, in   
particular, is 17."  
  
"I was finishing high school at that age. Just thinking of  
entering University...." She trailed off. "I had boyfriends and  
music and schoolwork on the brain. I wasn't going around, trying to  
save the world or society from itself...." She turned to him. "I  
must sound like an idiot."  
"Not really. I can barely remember what I was doing at that  
age." he chuckled. "I think I met Keiko, then. Probably been   
trying to forget on an instictive level...." He chuckled to himself  
as Aoi turned to look out the window at the passing streetlights.  
"So many times, they've just popped out of nowhere and done  
the job we should've been doing. And still, nobody within the  
hierachy or the government is willing to give them any credit. Its  
like they're afraid of what the Sailors represent."  
"A challenge to their authority." Kaji sniffed. "Wouldn't  
surprise me if someone in the Diet planned this from the start."  
  
Aoi shook her head, not turning to him. "You're into too  
many conspiracy theories, you know that?"  
"So would you if you've seen and heard half the things I have.  
Remember, I was thrown off a taskforce investigating the activities  
of Aum Shin Rikyo before the Sarin Gas Bombing. I knew something  
was going to go down, and I said so." He huffed. "My biggest   
mistake. They had members everywhere, even within the department."  
  
There were a few moments of silence as Aoi rubbed her face,  
trying to keep herself awake. She turned back to Kaji. "I've still  
got to pour over the psych assessment files. I have to work out  
what the other Sailors might do when they discover she's dead."  
  
"I have a pretty good idea what they might do. Or what some  
of them most certainly will do."  
"Yes, but we won't know for sure until it has happened, will  
we?" Aoi huffed. "That's why I want to go over the files. At  
least we'll be able to make some kind of prediction. Whether or not  
they'll act as a group, or whether they'll run off individually and  
hunt down those responsible."  
  
"That's the point, though. We're not sure who is responsible.  
And I have a feeling they won't be, either."  
  
"What makes you say that?"  
  
Kaji just shrugged. "Experience, I guess. If it was a   
planned execution, then those responsible would have made sure their  
tracks are well covered."  
"No matter how well covered they may be, there is still the  
strange time powers of Pluto. She might have even predicted this."  
"In which case, we have to ask the question... Why didn't she  
do anything about it? The only answer I can come up with is that  
she didn't know."  
"But she MUST have known. Their powers are inhuman ones. Who  
knows what they are truly capable of. Even with all the records   
we've kept, we still don't know who they are, or what they   
represent."  
"I know that. That's not the argument here. The point is, we  
have just identified a dead Sailorsenshi, lying in a motel room on  
the edge of town. We identified her because we have poured over all  
the photographic and witness sketch evidence. Repeatedly." He   
paused for effect. "Now, if they knew something beforehand, they  
surely would have been warned and would have done something about   
it. Well, wouldn't they?"  
  
Aoi nodded mutely.  
  
"So, we have to face the fact that they probably didn't know.  
Not even Pluto. We also have to face the possibility that they   
STILL don't know she is dead. But with each passing moment, that is  
becoming less and less likely. The news about the body will have  
been seen by at least one of them. Soon, the news will get out that  
the body is that of a girl, and they will begin to wonder why they  
haven't seen their friend, for social gatherings and the whatnot,   
which they have arranged. Eventually, they are going to start   
putting two and two together. On top of that, the brass will tell  
the media that the body found is that of a Sailorsenshi, if for no  
other reason than they would like to know why we are being so   
secretive about this case." He paused for a breath, this time. Aoi  
just sat back in her seat, resting her head against the back. "I  
give us 48 hours, Aoi, before they start to miss her. I mean,   
REALLY miss her."  
  
"Then we should put out an APB to all departments to take note   
of any report handed in about a missing girl."  
  
"If they bother to report her as missing."  
"What if her family kicks up a fuss?"  
"Who said any of them have a family?"  
"Well, they've got to have someone."  
"We don't know diddly squat about them outside their   
activities. They could be from the moon, for all we know."  
"What? Aliens from another world? Yeah, right."  
  
Kaji looked at her for a few moments. "So just where the hell  
do they get their powers from?"  
"They're psychic espers?"  
"Aww, not that old theory of yours again."  
"Well, I have to have one. And I'm not going to believe the  
mindless, illogical, paranoid crap that you believe in, either."  
"Well excuuuuuuse me." He huffed, hitting the steering wheel  
with his hands. Aoi wasn't intimidated. She knew exactly how far  
she could rile him.  
  
"Look, as you said, we know nothing about them outside their  
activities. So we have to assume they are living as close to normal  
lives it is possible for them to live. That means families who may  
or may not know of their capabilities."  
"And if they do know, and realise she is missing, they aren't  
very likely to do anything for fear of raising suspicion."  
"But even if they DO know, they will fear for her safety.  
That means it is likely that they, too, will be active. Suspicious  
neighbours reporting strange behaviour can be an effective weapon."  
  
Kaji went silent as he steered the car from the motorway, onto  
the main road that lead to their offices. Aoi, satisfied, reached  
into the glovebox.  
  
"Did you leave that muffin in here? I'm starving."  
  
"Aoi..."  
She turned to him. "What?"  
"What did you mean by 'effective weapon'?"  
  
She looked at him for a few moments, trying to work out what  
he was trying to say. "I mean, an effective weapon in our   
efforts..."  
"To catch them? To stop them and arrest them as vigilantes?"  
"Well, nothing like that. At least register their true   
identities...."  
"Why? For what purpose? Why do we really NEED to know who  
they are?"  
"I would have thought that was blatantly obvious."  
"Because it is our job? Or because it may mean promotion, and  
an ending of the unit?"  
  
She stared at him, pondering his words. Then she shook her   
head as her hand grabbed a paper bag in the glovebox, pulling it   
out. "You know, I've never really thought about it. I just want  
their identites on paper. It lends a sense of completeness about  
the issue."  
"It'll also look good on your record if you were marked down  
as the woman who 'exposed the Sailors', so to speak."  
"Yeah. So?"  
  
Kaji chuckled and shook his head. "You are a presumptuous  
little woman, you know that?"  
"Better than being an embittered old bastard like you." She  
looked into the bag. "Whoo, double choc-chip. Want any?"  
  
He held out his hand.  
  
  
  
Aoi stepped into the office of the SIU, her heart sinking at  
the sickening pale green of the walls. She had grown tired of  
seeing these walls. At least, she had come to associate them with  
the pitiful experiences she had had ever since being posted here.  
As the light to the office flickered on, she stepped over to the  
mainframe, checking who had access in the past 24 hours.  
  
"I'll leave you here." She heard Kaji mumble in the   
background. "I can't stand hanging around, watching you dose  
yourself with more radioactive rays."  
  
"Yeah, yeah. Fine. Whatever you want."  
  
"I'm going over to the Majors, see what little gems they are  
going to come up with."  
"Go! Go then. I'm busy."  
  
Kaji chuckled mirthlessly and shook his head. "Damn   
computers, can't stand the things." He said on his way out.  
  
Aoi stepped over to the door and closed it behind him. She  
looked through the glass partition at some of the other offices,  
but they all appeared to be dark. Most of those within the SIU  
were either at the scene now, or working with the other divisions.  
She liked that. It gave her the peace and quiet she wanted.  
  
She sat down and entered her access code. The mainframe  
chewed that over and then asked her what areas she wanted to look  
at, giving her a choice. She chose Psychological Assessment.  
  
It then asked her which Sailorsenshi, or affiliated figure,  
she wanted to look at. Now there was a choice. Where does one  
start with a group like this. Well, she knew she couldn't choose  
one of them. She was almost tempted to look in her file, too. A  
pity that she was dead, really. It meant an end to the file. A  
REAL end. No more activities for whomever followed her to cover.  
Just a grim FILE CLOSED to deal with. She sighed. This was  
getting her nowhere. They surely should have known that their  
activities could get them killed.... Whomever she REALLY was, she  
probably accepted death as a potential. Only, not quite THIS way.  
  
Aoi came to a decision, and hit the icon for PLUTO.  
  
  
END OF PART 1  
  
  
DDFA ayanami@internode.on.net  
5th Feb 1998 


	2. SIU part 2: Philosophical Absolutes

S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Bandai and Kodansya. All  
other characters were thought up by me. Well, its true, isn't it?  
  
  
Part Two  
Philosophical Absolutes  
  
  
If there was one sure thing about Sailorpluto, it was that  
absolutely no-one had even the slightest idea about how to properly  
psychoanalyse such a woman. Aoi very rapidly came to this   
conclusion as she read through the various texts by differing police  
and professional psychiatrists and psychologists, and other such  
thinkers.  
  
For instance, Ikido Hideaki, a psychiatrist with some standing  
in certain circles, considered Pluto to have something of a martyr  
complex.... That, according to data collected, she has been more  
than willing to sacrifice her very existence for what she thought  
was right, or what she thought may be the best outcome. Aoi skipped  
the part about where this evidence came from. "Various witnesses",  
it said. She wished she had been given names. She would have liked  
to have talked to them herself.  
  
Ebutso Kaori, an historian and columnist who has studies the  
life and activites of the Sailorsenshi described Pluto as, perhaps,  
their secret leader. Being the oldest, according to evidence   
collected (which WAS confirmed due to retrospective photographic  
evidence dating back as far as 1968 - before Aoi had even been born)  
it was likely that she regarded the other senshi as her proteges.  
However Mitsuru Kensuke, a sociologist from the Kansai region,   
disputed this by pointing out the fact the Pluto would often take  
orders from certain other members of the senshi, and only ever   
seemed to be laying the foundations for the arrival of the other  
senshi due to her activities in the distant past. There was even  
evidence, albeit very suspect, that she was partly responsible for   
bringing about the closure of the Pacific conflict in 1945....  
  
Aoi sniffed and chuckled at the presumptuousness of some of  
today's pseudo-intellectuals. Although, considering the powers of  
time that Pluto was supposed to contain (again, according to the  
evidence of certain nameless individuals) she was probably very much  
capable of achieving this momentous feat. Which then begged the  
question, just how old was she? And how far would she go to achieve  
her aims, whatever they were?  
  
Aoi stretched, clearly feeling that she wasn't getting   
anywhere. She had chosen to pour over the psych reports in the hope  
of predicting how the senshi would react to the death of one of   
their compatriots.... Murdered in a mysterious and bizarre manner,  
in a motel on the edge of town. Of course, she was probably getting  
distracted by the manner in which most of the writers had to format  
their texts. It was complex and often required knowledge of the  
terminology. Something Aoi WAS familiar with. There had been a  
stage, during her years at University, when she considered becoming  
a pyschologist or sociologist herself. Unfortunately she had been  
sidetracked during her studies and was only able to complete a  
Psychiatry course as a finishing subject.  
  
Still, when it came to joining the police force, this was of  
benefit to her. It gave her an added step-up to avoid ending up as  
one of the "uniforms", so to speak. She much preferred the more  
closed atmosphere of detective work, anyway.  
  
But the SIU was not her idea of where to use her talents. And  
it insulted her intelligence to think that there was somebody out  
there that thought that that was all it was good for. She shivered  
for a few moments and took a drag on her cigarette, allowing the  
fragrant smoke to fill her lungs. She had taken up smoking as a  
side-effect of her posting, and found it an immensely comforting  
habit. Damn all those who predicted for her an early death...   
Everyone was going to get scragged by the toxins in the atmosphere,  
anyway, so why not hasten the process a little. At least it took  
with it an element of honesty.  
  
She placed the cigarette back in the ashtray and read on. So,  
according to James Colliers, a psychiatrist from the UK, Pluto   
showed definite signs of an incipient pschopathy.... That she, at  
no stage, expressed sympathy or empathy for those who would suffer  
due to her activities. He was even bold enough to diagnose Asperger  
Syndrome with a borderline psychotic personality disorder. Aoi  
didn't know about the Asperger Syndrome, although it would explain  
the solitude with which Pluto carried herself. Asperger Syndrome  
was a little known, high-functioning variant of Autism, first   
discovered by Asperger in Germany shortly before the Second World  
War. Because of these events, the condition, and its related   
studies, remained fairly esoteric until the early 1980's when   
certain authorities began to question the total validity of Kanner's  
umbrella theory of Autism as being a severe disorder. Naturally,  
like all disorders of its kind, it had a scale of severity, ranging  
from the severely disabled (often combined with a group of other  
disorders) to low, medium and high functioning. And then, bewteen  
high functioning Autism and what could roughly be termed as   
normality sat the condition known as Asperger Syndrome.  
  
Aoi scratched her head. She really didn't know enough about  
the disorder to make a comment. Her studies only ever brushed   
lightly on Autism itself, let alone Aspergers. All she knew is that  
Japan had its own ideas about how to treat children with Autism, and  
she was not entirely in favour of those ideas. Still, the   
Psychiatric community was a cabal not to be reckoned with, so she  
never voiced her opinion on the matter.  
  
As for a borderline psychotic personality disorder.... Well,  
she could believe that, somewhat. After all, anyone who went   
running around the dark streets of Tokyo at night in a very short  
sailorfuku, taking on monsters, aliens and various gangsters had to  
have an element of self-delusion. The Sailorsenshi probably lived,  
in their own minds, a kind of fantasy existence. Perhaps her ideas  
about them accepting death as a risk they must take, due to their  
activities, was wrong. Perhaps they really DID feel they were  
invincible, capable of thugging on anyone who stood against whatever  
it was that they stood for. Whatever the case, with one of them now  
dead, that perception, if it existed, was going to be shattered in a  
very big way.  
  
She tried to imagine what it would be like to be one of them,  
and she leaned back in her chair, picking up her cigarette and   
taking another long drag. She rolled the smoke in her mouth, then  
blew it out into the air, making rings with the smoke. She so MUCH  
had wanted to be one of those magical girls in her youth, just like  
on television. Growing up had not been easy under the fairly macho  
atmosphere of a Japanese coed school. She had always been   
headstrong, and never allowed herself to be bullied around by the  
boys. but doing that only gave her an untouchable reputation, and  
she soon came to regret the ostracism that came with it.  
  
Still, she passed all of her subjects, and very rarely caused  
her teachers any trouble. She wasn't the most brilliant student in  
the world, but there were a hell of a lot who would sit below her on  
the marking books. The hard-nosed rote learning style of the   
Japanese education system had not leant itself kindly to her   
abilites. But then, it wasn't until she arrived at university that  
anyone realised what her abilities truly were. As her mother said,  
she was not one of those destined for a normal life.  
  
But still, those fantasies had persisted, running right into  
her early twenties. She watched all those magic girl anime shows,  
wishing she had lived that kind of life. An extraordinary diversion  
from the normal, humdrum existence that she had lead. It wasn't  
until she reached her mid-twenties, when she became sullied by the  
acceptance of social will that those dreams began to fade. It was  
also during this time that the stories of the Sailorsenshi started  
to appear in the press and tv news bulletins.  
  
Perhaps it was because she held an element of jealousy that  
she felt a certain contempt for them. Every time someone would  
mention the Sailorsenshi, the BITCH in her would come RIGHT out.  
"So what about them?" She would say. "They aren't anything   
special. Just a pack of dumb, ditzy schoolgirls, running around  
Tokyo, doing silly attacks on silly monsters. What is so good about  
them?"  
  
And then the Sailorsenshi started getting older, and larger in  
numbers, and more effective in fighting not only silly monsters and  
a paraphenalia of magical villains, but also the gangs and mobs that  
had had Japan under its thumb for quite some time. Some of the  
Sailorsenshi's activities were cutting pretty close to the bone in  
financial and political circles. Did they really understand the   
kind of people they were dealing with, here? Perhaps, if her   
earlier theory about them not really believing they were capable of   
dying was true, then perhaps they had an idealised concept of what   
and who their enemies truly were. It is easy to think of things in   
a very black and white manner if your enemies are uncluttered by   
such simple concepts as human frailty.  
  
She rubbed her head. Now she was beginning to give herself a  
headache. A combination of her tiredness and staring at a computer  
screen for too long. She put out her cigarette and stood,   
stretching as she did so. She stepped from the office into the  
darkened corridor, and followed it to the last door on the left.  
  
Switching on the light, she stepped in what acted as the   
SIU office's kitchen, and wandered over to the hot water urn. She  
felt the side to see how warm it was, and shrugged when she felt it  
to be not quite warm enough. She lifted the lid and looked inside,  
pleased that she wouldn't have to refill it. She switched it back  
on and opened the cupboard above, taking out a mug and a large tin  
of granulated coffee. She placed them on the counter beside the  
urn and opened up a drawer underneath, pulling out a spoon.  
  
She opened the lid of the tin and scooped up a teaspoonful  
of the noxious brown powder, dropping it into the mug. Ah,   
caffeine. Another wonderful chemical to which she had become   
addicted during her time at the SIU. If it wasn't the cigarettes  
that lay in their multitudes within her ashtray, it was the frequent  
visits and revisits to the kitchen to keep up the caffeine content  
of her bloodstream. Although she had to admit she was something of  
an addictive personality, she had never really taken to any   
particular pastime or substance to feed that personality. She has  
the fear of Kami placed into her after what had happened to her  
mother....  
  
She had been placed into an institution due to an addiction  
to painkillers.... Very POWERFUL painkillers, including Codeine,  
Doxylamine Succinate and Morphine. Her mother had been a similarly  
driven woman, although she reserved her energies for the medical  
profession.... Not a good thing when you are someone for which the  
only way to truly cope with life was by artificial means.  
  
Her mother had collapsed one day after overdosing. It was   
only then that anyone discovered just how deeply she had become  
engaged in satisfying the illness. It took her three times as much  
for a woman of her age and build to finally bring her down.  
  
She had been in that hospital for nigh on five years before  
Aoi had felt the first itching.... To send herself totally blotto.  
And that desire frightened her away from all forms of chemicals...  
Even beneficial ones that doctors would try to prescribe her when  
she would fall ill. How she laughed at that attitude now.  
  
She wondered how the Sailorsenshi dealt with such feelings  
and desires. The lack of self-esteem and self-worth, the depression  
and despair. Of course, there were always the high moments... those  
times that made life all that so much more worthwhile. And yet, she  
REALLY wanted to know what got the senshi through the darkest of  
emotional times. Did they live a fantasy existence there, as well?  
Were they in a constant state of euphoria due to their powers and  
what they were able to do with them? And how would they react now  
that one of their number was dead.  
  
If they knew she was dead, of course. How would Pluto react?  
Did Pluto know? If her much-vaunted time powers were not just the  
creation of some overstretched imagination or some hack journo, then  
why didn't she do something to save her comrade. And if she did   
know, was she involved in the girl's death? And if she didn't know,  
then WHY not? Of course, if she didn't know, that would just   
support the argument about those powers being a con.  
  
One thing was for sure. Pluto was not likely to act in a very  
appreciative manner if she was NOT involved in the girl's death.   
Aoi closed her eyes and shook her head. If there was anyone amongst  
them who truly had the ability to do something about it, then it was  
her. Of all the senshi, Pluto frightened Aoi the most, simply   
because nothing about her WAS clear, WAS simple. Aoi liked the  
clear and the simple. She liked order, both in herself, her   
surroundings and in others, and someone like Pluto simply didn't fit  
into any category she could tolerate.  
  
  
A thought occured to her. If Pluto WAS aware of what   
happened, did she know... About the SIU? About the investigation?  
About her and what she was doing to try and match her wits? Aoi  
shivered at the thought as steam began to rise from the urn. She  
placed her mug beneath the nozzle and turned it on, allowing the  
water to wash through the granules at the bottom. She watched as  
the cup filled, she mind and attention being dragged from her   
musings to the tart smell of the dark brown liquid. She shut it  
off when the water reached near the top, and turned the urn down  
to about half heat. She reached up into the cupboard again and  
dragged down the sugar bowl. Ah, sugar, just the thing she needed  
to go with the caffeine. Nothing like that combination to het you  
totally hyper.  
  
She gently scooped two teaspoons of sugar into the mug and  
replaced both it and the coffee tin into the cupboard, shutting the  
doors behind it. She absent-mindedly stirred the sugar into her   
brew as her mind began to race again. So.... If Pluto did know,  
then it was likely that she was going to have to match wits with  
her. How did one do that with someone who was supposed to know the  
future? She would have to double-guess and triple-guess everything  
she did. And even then, she wouldn't know if that was what Pluto  
was expecting. She sighed. All this theorising was getting her   
nowhere. Pluto was simply too big a conundrum to work with. She  
needed someone more predictable than that. Perhaps Sailormoon   
herself?  
  
Ah, Sailormoon, the one that had caused the SIU to exist in  
the first place... Although it was abvious she was NOT the first  
to appear... Venus made an appearance long before her, and Kami  
knows how long Pluto was around before that.... Probably seen  
several civilisations come and go in her travels for all she knew.  
Still, Sailormoon was an utterly predicatble beast. her every  
emotion was as clear as glass. Aoi liked that. Even though she  
hated the very idea of Sailormoon in the first place. But then,  
she hated the Sailorsenshi anyway, so that really shouldn't have  
come as much of a surprise.  
  
She stopped stirring the coffee and considered putting milk  
in it, eventually deciding that that was too much work for her, she  
put it to her mouth and sipped it, finding it a tad hot. She blew  
on the top a couple of times, intellectually realising that it was  
a futile gesture. No matter how much she tried to cool it this way,  
it wasn't likely to happen any faster. She hated the Sailorsenshi  
just SO much, and she really didn't know why. Jealousy wasn't   
enough. That would mean accepting that there was still a large   
portion of that silly little schoolgirl within her. The one that  
wanted to go through all those transformation sequences and wear  
silly, and occasionally revealing, clothes, thug on bad guys and  
fall in love with impossibly good-looking bishounen types.... If  
that kind of person existed within her still, she would most likely  
die of embarassment.  
  
No, she wanted to BRING THEM DOWN! Yes, that was what she  
wanted to do. As a member of the Police Force, who had been put to  
shame by their successes. This was a matter of honour for her and  
her colleagues. And even as she nodded on that point, she knew it  
was total bullshit. Still, the thought of actually catching them...  
To cross-examine them, chew them up through the system and spit them  
out the other end, not even the shell of their former selves, really  
burnt its way through the tender folds of her brain.  
  
  
As she continued to sip her coffee, she heard the front door  
of the office open, and stepped out into the corridor. An elderly  
man, in his late sixties, stood there, looking around the offices,  
rather disappointed until he saw her. She smiled, recognising him  
immediately.  
  
"Ah, Akizuki-san. So good to see you." She stepped up to  
Akizuki, holding out her hand. He took it warmly, nodding.  
"You too, Kikotsuka-san."  
"What brings you here at this time of the day?"  
"I heard... From one of your colleagues, about this most  
unfortunate incident."  
"Ah. You mean the senshi murder?"  
"Indeed." Akizuki nodded. "Such a terrible thing to have  
befallen the child." He sighed, sadly. Aoi understood Akizuki's  
sadness. He, after all, had been the first man chosen to lead the  
SIU in the last two years of his career as an officer. After having  
set up the SIU's framework, he retired, but had never quite gotten  
over the thrill of chasing the senshi... The possibility of ever  
catching one of them in the act, or exposing them. In a way, it  
could be said that he was not that much different to her. But he  
didn't, could never, hate them as much as she did. He had grown  
fond of the girls, like they were some form of elusive family.  
  
"I was just sitting down to eat dinner, with my wife. I'd  
had to make it as she is not in the best of health anymore. That's  
when DCS Konatsu called me. I have to say, it came as quite a shock  
to me."  
"Same here. I was getting pretty used to the idea that we   
would never get one of those girls." She smiled at him. "Would you  
like a cup of coffee? Or, perhaps, tea?"  
"Oh yes, indeed. Very kind of you." He shuffled alongside   
her as they made their way to the kitchen, gesturing to her with a  
"ladies first" when they reached the doorway. She'd rather liked  
Akizuki's strange, genteel, old-worldly nature. He had never come  
across to her as a threatening figure. One of the reasons why he  
had been such a success at his job. Everyone would underestimate  
him because of how he acted.  
  
"You know..." he said. "I always believed we would catch one  
of them, one day. Well, not catch so much as have one of them give  
themselves away to us. Or, perhaps, all of them. I'd always   
believed they would see that as the best course of action."  
  
"Well, its a bit hard to know with them, really." Aoi placed   
her mug on the counter and pulled another from the cupboard,   
gesturing to the tea and coffee.  
"Tea, thankyou." He nodded. "Yes, I suppose you're right.  
They are a secretive bunch. But really, I never thought them to be  
doing any harm in their activities. I was quite happy to let them  
run around, defeating the kinds of criminals we would never, in a  
million years, be able to catch and incarcerate."  
"You admire them?" Aoi asked, placing a teabag into the cup  
and letting water from the urn nozzle run through it.  
"Oh, I admire their purity of purpose. But then, I understand  
that life is never so simple. No milk or sugar, thanks."  
Aoi nodded and switched off the nozzle, placing the cup on the  
benchtop. She thought for a few moments. "What do you think of   
Pluto?" She raised an eyebrow.  
"Ah, Pluto. Very hard for me to judge, that one. I only   
heard about her around the time I was leaving the unit, so my   
knowledge is rather limited. But then, isn't everyones'?"  
Aoi smiled and jiggled the teabag a couple of times, tossing  
it into the bin and handing him the cup. He took it appreciatively.  
"Ah, thankyou." He sipped the cup. "You know, I was a much  
bigger expert in those early senshi.... They were so much easier to  
work with. Less philosophically compromised, if you know what I   
mean?" Aoi nodded. "If it had just been them... if the others   
hadn't made an appearance, I honestly would have believed that they  
would be known by now. I don't think those girls have anywhere near  
the foresight and understanding of their elder counterparts."  
  
"I'm wondering on how they would react. Like Sailormoon, for  
example..."  
"Ah yes, Sailormoon..." He gulped down the tea. Aoi wondered  
if he had any nerves in his throat... that had to be hot. "Now,   
she would react in an extremely emotional manner.... She would   
probably take it upon herself to revenge her fallen comrade."  
"So you think she WOULD do something... dramatic."  
"Oh, of course she would. Many of them would. Quite a few of  
them are somewhat... unbalanced, emotionally."  
"Are you saying they are dangerous?"  
"Well, of course they are dangerous. Anyone who wields their  
kind of power without some form of strict control is dangerous. But  
I don't think they will do anything that will harm people   
deliberately...."  
  
Aoi sighed as he gulped down the last of his tea. He handed  
her the cup, smiling. "Force of habit. Back in my old days, I  
found I was never given the time to drink my tea. Something would   
always distract me." Aoi chuckled, which made him smile. "Ah yes,  
I'm glad there are young women like you in the force these days.   
Having nothing but men in my day made it such a starkly morose   
experience. You won't believe some of the meetings I've had....   
All those square jaws and unsmiling, ugly old faces...." He shook   
his head. "Hard to believe I'm one of those old folks now. Forgive   
me, just an old man rambling on."  
  
Aoi shrugged. "That's fine. I'll prove to you how much   
better things are with 'young women like me' running things." He   
nodded, a lopsided smile on his face.  
"I remember the report I received recommending you. I think  
the term your old superior used was 'obsessed'. I was about to   
abuse him for being so presumptuous."  
"Until you met me, of course."  
"Of course." He looked at his watch. "Is that the time? I'm  
sorry, I must be going.... I promised Kikuko I'd be home at least  
before sunrise this time."  
"Eh? You out often?"  
"Hmm... Meeting with some of the oldies. You know, some of  
them are still within the force.... Take Chief Superintendant   
Watanabe, for example..." He smiled. "We joined in the same class,  
you know? Never thought I'd see him heading the political wing of  
the department. He was such a boofhead in his younger days. Used  
to be a sumo wrestler.... Pretty mean one, too. But then, you can  
never judge a person's character on initial experiences."  
"No, you can't." Aoi blinked a couple of times, yawning and  
rubbing her eyes. Akizuki chuckled.  
"These late nights can be murder on you. Especially on your  
personal life." The pair of them stepped back out into the   
corridor, walking back towards the front door. "You know, Kikuko  
is my second wife?"  
"Really?"  
"Yes. My first left me, back in the days when divorce was a  
big no-no. Still is, really, I guess. She said I wasn't providing  
her with what she required. I can't argue with that. I was very  
rarely home. So our families anulled the marriage, which went   
smoothly since we had no children. I eventually met Kikuko and  
remarried." He chuckled. "I soon learnt to become more involved in  
my home life. She wouldn't let things go, otherwise."  
  
Aoi nodded. In truth, hearing about failed marriages wasn't  
the first thing that came to mind as topics she wanted to discuss.  
She'd had enough of that from Kaji to last a lifetime. Still,   
Akizuki's doddering figure and trembly voice took out some of the  
sting.  
  
"Well, its been nice seeing you again." He held out his hand,  
and she shook it warmly.  
"Its been nice to see you, too. Been what, about three   
years?"  
"At least, at least. Good luck on finding this unfortunate  
girl's killer."  
"I'll give it my best shot, Akizuki-san."  
  
He waved to her and was about to step through the door when he  
paused and turned. "By the way, Kiko-san, what would you do if you  
were to... Catch the Sailorsenshi, so to speak?"  
  
Aoi frowned, not understanding the question. "Pardon?"  
"What would you do? Would you... stay within the unit, or   
move on to fields anew?"  
"If I'd caught them myself, without help from anyone else, I'd  
probably apply for a position in Major Crime. After having done  
something of that magnitude, they surely couldn't reject me."  
  
Akizuki nodded, smiling, then waved. "Who knows what rewards  
are coming to those willing to seek them." He stepped through the  
door and disappeared into the darkness.  
  
Aoi ran a hand through her hair. Rewards indeed! I don't  
have to get into Major Crime as a reward! I'm good enough as it is,  
now! She shook her head and turned back towards the kitchen.  
  
  
Outside, Akizuki turned to look at the small office building.  
"A keen one, that one. She may be able to give us the information  
we require...." He rubbed his chin, thoughtfully, then continued   
on.  
  
  
END OF PART 2  
  
DDFA ayanami@internode.on.net  
MAPPY on DALnet's #ajas  
15th February 1998 


	3. SIU part 3: Predator of the Mind

S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Bandai and Kodansya. All  
other characters were thought up by me. Well, its true, isn't it?  
  
  
Part Three  
Predator of the Mind  
  
  
Kaji slipped through the corridors of the police morgue,  
sniffing with some distaste. He hated the smells you'd get with  
this place... Reason enough to make sure you never made a visit  
as a patient, he supposed.  
  
For some reason, morgues like this had the annoying tendency  
to be painted a nice white and green colour, which only seemed to  
make the mood of the place that much more joyous to be in. He   
chuckled mirthlessly. Morgue humour... Had to love it.  
  
The door to the observation room was also green. And just   
across the main corridor sat the toilets. There was nothing like  
a well-planned layout. He punched in a code on the keys of the  
combination lock and opened the door, stepping in.  
  
The soft hush of the air conditioning belied what this room  
had seen in its past. Here, families had come to identify lost  
loved ones. And some not so loved. The room was deliberately soft  
hued and pleasant. And to Kaji, this just made it all the more  
macabre.  
  
The room was L shaped, with the observation window around the  
corner from the doorway. he listened as the door glided shut, and  
could hear a couple of muted voices.  
  
He turned the corner and saw Shimazaki and Katarin standing  
by the viewing window to the autopsy room. "Yo!" He waved at them   
as they turned to greet him. "Anything interesting?" It was   
Katarin, the older of the two, who responded.  
  
"Not much." He almost sounded disappointed. "They've found a   
heart, on the left side of the chest, two lungs, a liver, a stomach,   
intestines, kidneys... Generally all the kinds of things one should   
expect to find in a human body."  
  
"So they're cutting her up already?" He moved alongside them  
and peered in. Pleasant sights awaited him.  
  
"Hey, we like to move things along quickly, you know?"   
Shimazaki sounded hurt. "And besides, its been about three hours  
since she was moved in here. About time they started to look   
around."  
"Not that it was worth the wait. I've seen this kind of stuff  
before. She even has a womb, you know?" Katarin pointed. Kaji  
studied rather needlessly.  
"Well, I could tell you that was going to be the case." He  
huffed. "She was female, after all."  
"Well you never know in this day and age. If you've seen some  
of the things I've seen...." Katarin cleared his throat.  
"True, true..." Kaji watched for a few moments more as the  
surgeons pushed organs out of the way, prodding at something in the  
centre of their subject's chest cavity, obviously obscured by the   
ribcage. He then turned to Shimazaki.  
  
"Who's the guy working on her right now?"  
"Hmm? Oh, that's Toriyama. The head forensic pathologist   
with the local branch of the feds."  
"The feds? What do they want?"  
"Hey, its not every day you get a dead Sailor. Everyone wants  
a piece of the action. Sorry, bad joke." Shimazaki snorted as the  
sound of a small cutting instrument whirred away within the theatre.  
  
"So, you gonna tell me what it was you found that was so   
special, hmm?" Kaji threw in with a sideways glance.  
  
Shimazaki looked at him for a few moments, shaking his head.  
"And who told you we found something?"  
"Your boss did."  
"Kurabuto?" Shimazaki gawked at Kaji. "What is he doing,  
mouthing off like that?"  
"His job, I suppose. I'm SIU, and that means all evidence  
involving the Sailors comes my way. Course, he'd already told my  
boss about the thing, so I guess its pretty old news by now."  
  
"Whoa... SHIT! Will you look at THAT!" Katarin had his face  
up against the window, staring in with disbelief. The other two   
followed his gaze and were equally stunned. The surgeons were   
pulling a crystal from the girl's chest. It looked fairly dirty and  
bloodied, but it was a crystal all the same. They'd had to cut the  
ribcage to remove it, as it was reasonably large. The autopsy  
photographer was snapping away like mad as they levered their prize  
away from the bone and clinging flesh.  
  
"So, that's a heart crystal..." Kaji bit his lower lip,   
drawing stares from Shimazaki and Katarin.  
"What in Kami's name is a heart crystal?"  
"Its related to the star seed and the psychosis flange." He  
snorted. "Its that thing those monsters were trying to rip outta  
their victims four years ago. Dunno why, but the effects on the  
health of those who lost 'em were pretty severe. Of course, the  
Sailors managed to get them all back. All the same, I've never seen  
one actually in a body after its death. Maybe that's one thing that  
defines us from them...."  
  
"Hmmm... Could be. It might be what gives them their   
powers... A Heart Crystal of greater constituion, capable of   
surviving the death of the senshi." Katarin leaned against the  
window.  
Kaji shrugged. "I dunno. If it were that simple, then it  
would mean nothing more than compulsory screening of high school  
students for these things to catch the little bastards. And   
somehow, I don't think we're going to be let off the hook quite that  
easily." They watched for a few moments longer as the heart crystal  
was placed in a tray, photographed a few more times, then covered  
over with what looked like a plastic film.  
  
"What I wouldn't do to have that thing mounted on my office  
desk." Kaji wiped his nose. "After all the trouble these chicks  
have given us, it'd make a great trophy."  
"Might I remind you that your trophy would come at the expense   
of that young girl's life." Katarin thumbed towards the window.   
Kaji shrugged.  
  
"So, are you going to show me what you found?" He turned  
back to Shimazaki and Katarin. Shimazaki looked at Katarin for a  
moment, who just smiled.  
"Yeah, I suppose so. Come this way...."  
  
They turned and walked away from the window, back towards the   
door to the main corridor. Shimazaki turned aside to Kaji.  
  
"Here's something I bet my boss hasn't told yours..."  
"What?"  
"You know the fuku the girl is wearing?"  
"Yeah? What about it?"  
"The lab reports have just come back. First off, they needed   
diamond-sharp surgical knives to get the thing off the girl. I mean   
off completely, it didn't WANT to come off, literally."  
"What do you mean, it didn't want to come off?"  
"I mean it didn't want to. The thing is alive. That was the   
second point.... Its fifty percent normal clothing material, fifty   
percent human flesh."  
  
That stunned Kaji slightly. Well, more than slightly since  
the revelation was somewhat unexpected. He stopped in his tracks  
and scratched his head.  
"Jeez... You know, that's kinda sick..."  
"Heh, that's nothing. They did a genetic test on the   
clothing. It matches the genetic structure of the girl. The part   
that was human, that is."  
  
"So, have you run the genetic samples through the databank to  
try and identify her?"  
  
"Yep. And its come up a blank. Either that girl has never  
seen a hospital, or her genetic structure is malleable, depending on  
what state their in. Transformed or Untransformed."  
"Where is it now? The fuku, I mean."  
"Its locked away in the freezers. Kami knows what it will do  
if its left to turn all on its own.... As soon as they'd managed   
to cut the whole suit off, it healed itself right up. Gloves,   
boots, the lot."  
"What? Even the tiara?"  
"Even the tiara. We almost had to cut THAT off, too. Then,  
it just fell off... Almost as if it had given up...."  
  
"Pity you people have never been able to catch one of these  
girls untransformed." Katarin sniffed.  
"Hey, if we knew what they LOOKED like untransformed, we'd   
drag 'em off the streets, straight away. Don't think we wouldn't."  
  
Katarin shrugged. "Bet we would have caught them."  
"Bet you would have got as far as us. Did you know the SIU's  
duties were going to be delegated to Major Crime?"  
"You're kidding?" Shimazaki and Katarin stared at him.  
  
"Nope. That was one of the options the old boys at the top  
were considering when they set up the investigation. Eventually  
they came to the conclusion that the amount of information from  
various sources was simply going to swamp you guys. So we ended up  
with the job, thus relieving you of the tiresome duties...." Kaji  
smiled. "Of course, I could put a word in about Major Crime taking  
over the SIU's business. You know what they're like these days,  
cutting back on services and costs and such...."  
  
Shimazaki and Katarin were somewhat less smug for the rest of  
their journey to their office. Katarin opened the door to the   
darkened room, switching on the lights. He waved Shimazaki and Kaji  
through, stepping in as the pair stepped over to his desk, on top of   
which sat a small plastic bag containing a transformation pen. Kaji   
picked up the bag, examining it.  
  
"Don't look like much to me."  
"Well, that's one of their transfo thingies. They just shout  
out their spiel, this thing flashes in from some unidentified   
subspace pocket and they turn into girls in skimpy sailorfukus."  
Shimazaki just resisted snorting. "Can't say I find the idea   
unappealing. Pity things have got this serious."  
"Hmm." Kaji looked at it a few moments more. "I thought  
these things disappeared once the transformation was complete."  
"Apparently they just disappear back into that little subspace  
pocket. This one, however, must have reappeared upon her death. I  
don't suppose we'll ever find out why." Shimazaki sighed.  
  
"Well, it might have something to do with what happened in the  
motel. I take it this is now being treated as more than a suicide?"  
"Hmm. We've been told from on high to treat it as a homicide.  
But I dunno. This whole Sailor business is so out there, bizarre.  
I mean, I find it hard to believe that this kind of stuff exists in  
the real world." Katarin shrugged.  
  
"Deal with the pain, boyo." Kaji chuckled. "Its out there,  
and its coming to get you." Kaji held the bag higher, staring at it   
in the light. "There's a kind of symbol on the side...."  
  
"That's apparently an astrological symbol... For her planet."  
Katarin pursed his lips, thinking for a few moments. "I'm not sure  
of their origin. I don't actually think the origin of the things  
are that old. Although it is hard to tell. Its based on European  
astrology, or a form of it. Each planet is represented by a certain  
symbol... The same with star signs and such. I don't know if the  
symbols themselves have any meaning after that."  
  
"The symbol looks kinda strange... Kind of like a..." Kaji  
paused, thinking, then shrugged, putting it back on the table. "Oh  
well, next question... Have there been any reports of missing   
girls?"  
"Well, of that I'm sure. And the answer is no." Katarin bit  
his lip. "Unless one is being reported now. You know how long it  
can take some to do the simplest tasks."  
  
Kaji nodded. "Well, I suppose that means we're going to have  
to continue as if nobody is going to file a report."  
  
"Do we know if the victim has a family to report anything?"  
Shimazaki raised his eyebrows, hopefully.  
  
"About their private lives, boyo, we know diddly squat. All  
that is known about them, is what they get up to when they do the  
senshi thing." Kaji smiled lopsidedly.  
  
"Well, it is a possibility. You could look around the school  
records for students who are missing parents."  
  
Kaji rolled his eyes. "How many kids in this city are missing  
one or other of their parents, eh? Come on, it'd take forever. And   
anyway, we've tried that before."  
  
"Well, it is worth a go. If we still don't get any reports, then it becomes more likely."  
  
"Or they're just trying to fox us. Have you ever thought that  
these girls' only family is each other?"  
  
"Which should make the search easier." Katarin smiled.  
"There can't be that many households in Tokyo that are made up of  
nine or so girls in their late teens and early twenties...."  
  
"Oh, I dunno. As you said before, I've seen a lot of things  
in my time." He paused for a few moments. "But I'll give it a   
thought."  
"Look at it this way, Kaji... If you find out the identity  
of this one, the rest may tumble down like a house of cards. Groups  
like this tend to survive by the most minute of threads."  
  
"Hmm. Better not talk too much like that around Kiko-san."  
"Why?" Shimazaki sneered. Thoughts of the woman still fresh  
in his mind.  
"Because she's got this mean and nasty streak, miles wide.  
And the target lock is currently on the Sailorsenshi. You start   
talking about them falling down like a pack of cards, and you'll   
never hear the end of it."  
  
"Where is Kiko-san now?" Katarin enquired.  
"Back at the office. She's going over the psych reports on  
the mainframe."  
"Well, give her something to do. Call her and ask her to look  
up student records in the Juuban district schools of approximately   
five to six years ago." Katarin rubbed his mouth, smiling   
underneath.  
  
"Just because the Juuban area has tended to be the centre of  
their activities doesn't mean they live there."  
"Its a pretty good bloody pointer, though."  
  
"As I've said, we've gone through the records before. There   
are just too many students. And the records are rarely, if ever,   
complete or satisfactory." Kaji shook his head. "And the movement   
of students.... No, we had a fifteen-strong team working on that   
before, trying to pick out the senshi through the schools' photo  
records. Eventually, the task just overwhelmed them."  
  
"Yes, but look at it this way, Kaji... It will keep Kiko-san  
out of your hair. After all, if she's so bloody obsessed with   
taking the senshi down, just feed her a line and she'll run with   
it."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"I dunno... Tell her to look up female students that have   
no... Umm... Parents, maybe? Students whose parents are   
deceased."  
  
Kaji considered it. Oh well, it couldn't do her any harm....  
  
  
  
Aoi sat in her chair, snoring. She'd just reached the point  
in Professor Kando Makimichi's discussion on the apparent schism   
between Sailormoon the senshi and the occasional appearances by the  
mysterious Princess Serenity when her brain decided to rescue her by  
shutting down the concious aspects of the left and right   
hemispheres. This meant she was now swimming in a river with   
blank-faced Sailorsenshi throwing the complete works of J.B.   
Priestley at her from the banks.  
  
She was rescued from this horrific fate when her mobile phone  
rang, causing her to jump and fall out of her chair. Getting to her  
feet, cursing, she grabbed the phone and answered it.   
  
"Moshimoshi..." She said in her best mock-cheerful accent.   
Then she backed away from the computer. Then out of the room.   
"Okay, I can hear you now."  
"Kiko-san, its me."  
"Hello Me. What do you want?"  
Aoi could hear Kaji sighing at the other end of the line.   
"Well if you're going to do this with your usual cynicism, you might  
as well forget it."  
"Oh, get a life. You've called me now. What do you want?"  
"Look, I really need you to look up something on the   
mainframe. The school enrolement records for the Juuban area during  
the 1992-93 period. Perhaps extending into 94."  
"And what is this going to achieve except a lot of useless  
names?" Aoi snorted.  
"Now now now.... Just wait up and listen. We've been told   
to look into this... By the higher-ups. What we want are the names   
of all the female students in that area who have lost one or both   
their parents. Preferably both." Bullshit, she thought. Higher-  
ups be damned!  
  
"Oh yeah, that's just great, you know." She snorted with   
contempt. Kaji ummed and erred a couple of times.  
"Well there can't be THAT many that were in that situation.  
Even if it only cuts it down to a hundred, I want you to go over the  
photographs of that hundred with a fine-toothed comb. You know what   
they look like in their transformed state better than anyone else."  
  
Aoi sighed. "Alright, alright. Anything to keep me busy,   
eh?" She hung up and stepped back into the room, placing the phone  
on the tabletop. "Bastard!" How dare he! She sat and sighed.   
Well, there was nothing for it. She'd gone through this ritual   
before, and had found nothing.  
  
Hundreds of witnesses to senshi activity had gone through the  
process of trying to identify senshi from photographs of young girls   
and women who, for one reason or another, had become suspects. Not   
once had any of those witnesses actually found someone who looked   
vaguely like the senshi. Then there was the taskforce that had been   
set up to check through the school photographic records. Everyone   
within the SIU knew what they looked like, and yet.... Either they   
were just too tired to bother when they did get to the right   
photographs, or there was some kind of block placed on the minds of  
those who had seen their faces. Either that or they didn't go to  
school. She didn't see how that was entirely possible, but then,   
they weren't dealing with normal human beings here.  
  
No, just people who lived fantasy existences.  
  
She exited the program she was using. It was easy enough to   
access student records, including photographic records, through   
the Police's system. The biggest problem was getting the   
surprisingly simple-looking search program to do exactly what you   
asked it to do. It was TOO simple, and that was the problem. You   
could only search for one group at a time.  
  
And so she asked the program to search student high-school  
enrolement records for the years 1992 - 1993. And, of course, not  
being too specific, it spewed off a list of names the size of   
several small nations.  
  
Once that was finished (it actually took about five minutes to   
stop scrolling) she put in another parameter... Juuban District.  
Well, with three public and two private schools, that cut down the  
numbers to something like eight thousand students. She   
sweatdropped. Things were not looking good, here.  
  
Third parameter - Female. Now the number was four thousand,  
or aroundabouts. Fourth - Those students amongst this group with  
no parents.  
  
7  
  
Aoi stared at the number for several moments, not believing   
her luck. In fact, she started to giggle inanely. Looks like it  
was time for another cup of coffee. Wai, caffeine dai yo, hway   
hway!  
  
Instead she chose to bring up the school photographs of each  
of the students. That was when her heart sank. Nearly all the  
pictures looked suspiciously like passport photographs, like the  
students had just thrown themselves together moments before the   
shots were taken. Then there was the fact that most of them had  
been done by amateur photographers hired by the schools at dirt  
cheap prices. The coffee was now looking extremely attractive. So  
were the packet of cigarettes sitting in front of her. She lit one  
and studied the pictures, intensely.  
  
She put the cigarette in her mouth and took a long, hard drag,  
extracting the maximum amount of smoke as was possible. She lifted  
it away and sat back, closing her eyes, holding in the vapours.  
  
An image flashed across her mind, and she almost choked,   
coughing the smoke out roughly. So much for the little pleasures  
in life. What the hell was that, anyway? It happened occasionally  
and would worry her.  
  
She sat up again after wiping spit from her chin and looked  
up at the faces on the screen. For some reason, one of them seemed  
to be leaping out at her. She took a long, hard look.  
  
She hadn't spotted it at first, and she wondered why. It   
should have been so obvious. The hair of the girl matched the   
photographs and other descriptions for the senshi known as Jupiter.  
It was SO obvious.... How could she have missed it?  
  
She clicked on the photograph and brought up the girl's   
records. Kino Makoto. Age 14 (1992). Birth Date - December 5.  
Blood Type - O. Lives Atashi Apartments, Juuban. Parents deceased,   
killed in airline accident. Guardians - Takezaki Michie (aunt) and  
Takezaki Nobuhiro (uncle). Lives separate from guardians due to  
irreconcilable differences. Receives monthly support from school  
services.  
  
So, the girl lives on her own, eh? Aoi took down the address  
and stubbed out the cigarette. She closed off the mainframe,   
grabbed her jacket and left her office. After putting on the office  
security alarms, she locked the front doors and grabbed her car keys  
from her pocket....  
  
So, you thought you could keep me busy, did you, Kaji? You   
and the other boys? She smiled inwardly, flexing her fingers.   
Well, Ms Kino.... It looks like we have a date with destiny coming  
RIGHT up!  
  
She unlocked her car, got in, shut the door and drove away,   
not once noticing the figure sitting on the seat in the small   
garden area just above the car park.  
  
"The Kikotsuka woman is moving.... She looks pretty   
motivated, too, I must say." He held the two-way close to his face.  
"Should I follow?"  
"Negative, Unit Three has got her in sight, and are   
following."  
"Copy. Heading back now." He switched off his radio and   
stood, pulling his rainjacket tighter as a light mist began to fall.  
Sighing, he began to walk away. All things considered, he felt very  
lucky not to be caught by the woman.  
  
He hated jobs that involved Mind Predators.  
  
END OF PART 3  
  
DDFA ayanami@internode.on.net  
MAPPY on DALnet's #ajas  
19th February 1998 


	4. SIU part 4: There is No Law

S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Bandai and Kodansya. All  
other characters were thought up by me. Well, its true, isn't it?  
  
  
Part Four  
There is no Law  
  
  
The young woman in the black dress stepped through the long,  
dark marble halls of the Sacred House, unaware of the passing of   
time. For her, time had long been a meaningless concept.  
  
She had lived and breathed the darkness of these halls for  
the vast majority of her life. Only recently was she being allowed  
the pleasure of an outside life. A life in the light of day. Even  
then, she was restricted from spending too much time in the sun.  
The damaging rays was especially harmful to her delicate   
constitution.  
  
"And where might we be going this good evening?" She turned  
to face the figure that stood within the shadow. A slow, deliberate  
turn, for she recognised the voice immediately.  
"I am to meet with my father, Sherrie, if it is of any   
business to you."  
  
The figure emerged from the dark. Another young woman, with  
wavy fire-red hair, dressed in a complicated black-leather   
minidress, wound around with a multitude of straps and lace. Her  
fingernails were especially long and sharp, like the claws of a   
predatory beast. In fact, everything about her read predatory.  
  
Rumiko knew better.  
  
"I see you have emerged from your sleep."  
"What a pain." Sherrie stepped alongside Rumiko as she   
continued on her way. "I hate the after-effects of the medication.  
It leaves me feeling so drained."  
"I do understand this. We must all tolerate this bane of our  
existence, unless we are to give in to our impulses."  
"Impulse schmimpulse." Sherrie threw her head back, crossing  
her arms behind. "I still have the desire. I want to go out and   
kill some..."  
"Shhhh!" Rumiko grabbed Sherrie by the shoulder. "Not so  
damn loud, you fool. You know this place has eyes and ears. If any  
of the elders hear you speaking that way, they may reconsider your  
place amongst us."  
"I know, I know. Jeez, its not like I'm gonna go out and kill  
anyone anytime soon." Sherrie huffed. "Besides.. They still need  
me for my bloodline."  
  
Rumiko nodded and they continued.  
  
"Have you been paired, yet?" Rumiko asked, simply. Sherrie  
frowned at her, shaking her head.  
"Not yet. They have made some suggestions, but I'm holding   
out for the time being. I'm not going to allow myself to become a  
baby-making plant."  
"We all have a destiny to fulfill, Sherrie. As women, we were  
born to have babies. Its a basic aspect of our physiology"  
"Not in my world." Sherrie sniffed. Rumiko rolled her eyes  
and sighed, sadly.  
"They'll pair you off one day. And you'll give birth to the  
inheritors of your house."  
"Only after I'm finshed with it." Sherrie looked at Rumiko,  
touching her long, dark hair almost tenderly. Rumiko looked aside,  
nervously.  
"Not here. Not now." Rumiko whispered as they approached a  
set of heavy, carved wooden doors. Sherrie put down her hand and  
looked away.  
  
The doors opened automatically, bringing into view the lighter  
grey-marble shrine room beyond. In the centre of the room, a set of  
stairs led up to an altar, where an effigy of a strange but humanoid  
creature could be seen. Characters, written in a strange language,  
were marked across the top and bottom of the effigy.  
  
In the middle of the stairs, kneeling upon a rug, was a man   
who looked as young as both Rumiko and Sherrie. For a few moments,  
he stayed silent as the pair awaited their permission to enter.   
Slowly, he half-turned to them, noticing their presence.  
  
"You both smell delightful today, children." He said, softly.  
"Please, do come in. I have been waiting for an audience with you  
both."  
  
Rumiko turned to Sherrie, who nodded.  
  
"Thankyou, father." Rumiko bowed, followed by a less   
submissive gesture on Sherrie's part. The pair wandered up to the  
lower steps and knelt as Tani Genzaburo turned to his daughter and  
friend.  
  
"So, my child, you are now of the age of 21. An adult in the  
eyes of the elders."  
"Yes, my father."  
"I have been told you have progressed well in the use of your  
powers, and of the suppression of your desires." He turned to   
Sherrie. "You have been of great support, Sherilyn Meehan."  
"Ah, it was nothing. She was never going to act the rebel."  
  
Rumiko winced at Sherrie's forthrightness. Gen was, however,  
amused, chuckling. Now, at 65, and looking not a day older than  
his own daughter, he had become used to the brusque nature of the  
European breeds like Sherrie.  
  
  
"You asked me here for a reason, father." Rumiko didn't have  
the patience for idle chat, like her old man did. He sighed. There   
was a lot she had yet to learn.  
  
"Have either of you heard the name Kikotsuka Aoi?"  
"Yes. She's a member of the SIU, correct?" Sherrie cocked  
her head slightly.  
"The one we've been watching for the last couple of months."  
Rumiko was not to be outdone by Sherrie.  
  
"Correct. Now, answer me this... Do you know WHY we have   
been watching her?"  
  
"Because she presented as a potential member of the house?"  
Sherrie looked at him questioningly. "That was why the surveillance  
began."  
He nodded. "Yes, that is how it began, but now is a very   
different situation. Being a member of the SIU, she was   
investigating the activities of the Sailorsenshi."  
"Something both she and the rest of the unit weren't very good  
at." Rumiko smiled darkly. Her father wagged a finger at her.  
"Now now now, don't be so hasty with your criticisms. Yes,  
they haven't discovered the identites of the Sailorsenshi, but then,  
neither have we, and we have had a great deal more in resources than  
they ever had."  
  
"That aside, what has changed?" Sherrie raised an eyebrow.  
"You would not have asked us here unless something has changed in  
our operation."  
  
"The death of one of the Sailorsenshi, that is what."  
  
Both Rumiko and Sherrie looked at each other, then back at   
Gen. "This is for certain? I mean, it IS one of the Sailorsenshi?  
We've had people masquerading as them before...." Rumiko queried.  
Gen shook his head. "I'm afraid not. All the members of the  
unit have confirmed that the victim involved was, indeed, a   
Sailorsenshi."  
"Victim?" Gen looked at Sherrie.  
"Yes. Initially it appeared to be a suicide. But now it   
appears the scene was nothing more than a setup. The members of the  
SIU are experts in identifying the Sailorsenshi from the numerous  
photographs and witnesses' artist impressions.... All of them  
positively identified her."  
"Which one was it? Which one was killed?" Sherrie punched a  
fist in her other hand.  
  
"Now now now... There have been some conflicting reports from  
the police involved in this investigation. It would seem someone is  
attempting to fudge the issue somewhat. Why, I'm not certain.   
Perhaps in the identity of the senshi lies a clue to the identities  
of the others, and those who oppose us don't wish for us to find out   
quite so quickly."  
  
"But nobody has ever been able to identify them from even the  
best of photographic evidence... Why should things be any different  
now?"  
"Well, for a start, we've long believed that their real-life  
identities have been suppressed by some form of magic. This is why  
nobody has been able to put two and two together. Not even those  
who have studied their senshi likenesses intensely, like the SIU.  
However, one particular member of the SIU has qualities that set  
her apart from the others."  
  
"Kikotsuka Aoi, in other words." Gen turned to Rumiko and  
nodded.  
"Yes.... She is different, for the same reasons we have been  
watching her all this time. She is one of us. A cross breed. And  
a particularly esoteric one, at that."  
"A Mind Predator." Sherrie looked down. "One of the reasons  
we've had to be careful in our observations. If she so much as  
discovered their presence, she might have unwittingly wiped them."  
  
"Indeed. Now what do you think would happen when this woman  
comes face to face with a force of magic trying to stop her mind  
from interpreting the identities of the Sailorsenshi...?"  
"That magic would be erased." Rumiko warmed to the subject.  
Gen nodded.  
"The magic would indeed be erased. And almost instantaneously  
the identity of the Sailorsenshi would be stripped before her eyes."  
  
"So why hasn't it been, up to now..." Sherrie moved with   
irritation. She hated these long, drawn-out explanations.  
"Because she would have had to have seen the senshi in her   
real-life form to make a comparison, or seen them on the street.  
Only then would her abilities have kicked in."  
  
"So? The dead sesnhi was still in her senshi form. Unless  
the senshi changed back after her death, the status quo would have  
remained."  
"But the magic protecting her identity would weaken. And,  
within a very short space of time, the Kikotsuka woman's abilities  
would break through. And with that will come the revelation of, if  
not the victim, then one of the others. Almost like she would be  
drawn to finding that identity..."  
  
"So where is she now? Has she found the identity of one of  
them, yet?" Sherrie smiled, rubbing her chin.  
  
"It would seem so, if the reports from our people on the   
street are anything to go by. Right now, she is in Juuban. We can  
only guess at what she hopes to find there...."  
  
  
The Atashi Apartments were a small complex of about thirty or  
so. Well, small for the Juuban area... There were some mightily   
big complexes here of up to 1,000 places, mostly fronting the main  
roads. The Atashis were, however, off the beaten track. If one  
could describe somewhere in Tokyo as being off the beaten track.  
  
She'd parked across from the entrance to the apartment   
complex's carpark. As to be expected at this time of the morning,  
everything was pretty quiet, although there were one or two people  
up... What with the working day rush only two hours away, some  
early birds were already planning their assault on the public   
transport system.  
  
Aoi must have watched for at least half an hour, totally lost  
in thought as misty rain fell against the windows of her car. How  
was she going to go about this? Wake up the owners of the   
apartments and ask them to let her into the girl's unit? Hardly.  
Perhaps simply break in... That sounded more her cup of tea.  
  
She opened the door to her car and stepped out into the rain,  
pulling her jacket tighter around her. She closed and locked the  
car behind her and slowly stepped through the darkness to the   
entrance of the apartments.  
  
The girl's place was on the upper level of the complex, at the   
far end corner.... Fairly private. Aoi raised an eyebrow. Just as  
well, all things considered. Slowly, and quietly, she made her way  
up the staircase and along the pathway to the last door.  
  
Looking around, she pulled out a set of keys from the pocket  
of her jacket. These had come in handy during her time.... Keys to  
open any lock imaginable, even electronic locks.... Thanks to one  
of the city's leading Yakuza family bosses... For "service   
rendered", so to speak. Sometimes, even in doing no more than your   
job, you end up handing others what they want on a silver platter.  
  
After trying a half dozen keys, there was a satisfying click  
in the locking mechanism. Slowly, she opened the door. No chain  
hitched up to stop the door. Well, not that she expected there to  
be.... But still.  
  
She pushed the door wide open and stared into the darkness  
within. She was greeted with silence, bar the humming of what had  
to have been a refridgerator. She took a breath and stepped in.  
  
Closing the door behind her, she scanned the room. A small  
entrance with step up to leave shoes, followed by a loungeroom.  
Off to the left was a doorway to the kitchen, and a second to the  
bathroom/laundry. On the right was a door to the bedroom.  
  
She stepped over to the open doorway of the bedroom and peered  
in. Empty. The bed was untouched. She turned back to the doorway  
to the kitchen and padded over. She could smell the lingering aroma  
of freash cooking. Sitting on the table were an assortment of small  
cakes, left to cool after being taken from the oven. She picked one  
up and sniffed it. A nice, sweet smell entered her nostrils. Well,  
she knew one thing about this girl... Apart from being a   
Sailorsenshi, she was a damn fine cook.  
  
Aoi bit into the cake and munched on it appreciatively as she  
wandered back into the loungeroom. It was then she noticed the   
flashing light on the answering machine, sitting on a small table on  
the side of the room.  
  
She stepped over, taking another bite out of the cake, and   
pressed the message button. It beeped four times, then began to  
rewind.... So, four messages, eh? Aoi pulled out a notebook and  
a pencil, and stood a short distance away, where she could catch  
some of the streetlight coming in through the front window. She  
considered turning on the lights, but she didn't want the attention,  
yet, so left things as they were.  
  
"Hi, you've reached Mako-chan's phone. I'm sorry, but I can't  
answer at the moment. So can you please leave your name, your   
message and a contact phone number, if required, after the tone.   
I'll get back to you as soon as possible."  
  
*BEEP*  
  
"Mako-chan, this is Usagi-chan. Don't forget the meeting  
tonight, after your college courses. We really need to talk to  
you about things. About what happened yesterday between Setsuna  
and you. Please... I don't like to see any of you fighting. Well,  
seeya then."  
  
Usagi-chan... Rabbit? Jeez, what a name. Well, whatever  
the case, it was interesting that there was going to be some  
meeting yesterday... Between the Sailorsenshi? Or something more  
domestic. From what she'd heard, it sounded like a domestic kind of  
squabble going on.  
  
*BEEP*  
  
"Mako-chan? This is Kensuke. We have got a delivery in for  
you. See us after college tonight. Don't be late."  
  
Oh, now THAT was interesting. A man's voice this time.   
Young, too. As young as those who had been seen hiring the hotel  
room where the senshi's body had been found. She wondered about  
that one. She jotted down the name underneath Usagi.  
  
*BEEP*  
  
"Damn!"  
  
Well, nothing like keeping things short and sweet there. A  
woman's voice, kind of soft, too. She bit her lip and thought about  
it as the next message came through.  
  
*BEEP*  
  
"Mako-chan, its Usagi again. Where were you? And, for that  
matter, where was everyone else? The only people who showed up   
tonight was myself and Rei-chan. What the hell is going on bewteen  
you all? I can't even get in touch with Ami-chan, Mina-chan,   
Haruka-san and Michiru-san.... The only one I COULD get in touch  
with was Setsuna-san.... She was held up because of her work. But  
you...? Please, Mako-chan.. Call me... I'm really worried, now."  
  
Hmmm... Interesting. A fall-out between the Sailorsenshi?  
And if so, over what? She bit her lip and replayed that message so  
she could get all the names written down....  
  
She sat down on the lounge suite and rubbed her chin,   
thinking. So, now there was a possibility that the other   
Sailorsenshi could regard one of their member's no-show as an act of  
defiant petulance, in which case, it was exceedingly unlikely that  
any of them knew she was dead.  
  
Except, maybe, Pluto. She thought about it hard. That third  
message.. The soft voice of a woman, could have been her. She   
stood and replayed that simple, one word message.  
  
*BEEP*  
  
"Damn!"  
  
She stopped the machine, rewound it, and played it again.  
  
*BEEP*  
  
"Damn!"  
  
She closed her eyes as the exclamation played through. Then  
she felt an image flash through her mind.... An image of Pluto,   
holding a phone, a young girl with dark hair standing behind her,  
looking worried. "Damn!" Said the woman, and put down the phone.  
  
Aoi opened her eyes and stopped the machine before the fourth  
message played through. She felt pretty elated. The woman had....  
Dark green hair.... Just like Pluto. Had to have. And the girl  
who was standing behind her... Had to have been that weird Saturn.  
  
Aoi rubbed hr head. What the hell was going on here? How did  
she know this? What the hell had happened just then?  
  
  
she was about to sit back down on the lounge suite, when the  
phone rang. She stood there, looking somewhat confused. What to   
do, what to do? The answering machine wasn't going to answer this  
time.  
  
In a fit of madness, or some divine drive, she picked up the  
receiver. "Hello?" She said in a voice so constrained that it was  
barely a squeak.  
"Ah, hello. I've been expecting you." A woman's voice.  
"Who is this?" Aoi asked, no less nervous than before.  
"Silly. I thought that would have been obvious. To you, at   
least." The woman chuckled.  
"Pluto...." Aoi frowned. "So, you do know what has   
happened?" She kicked herself. The woman chuckled at the other   
end.  
"Know what? What has happened? I'm sorry, but I..."  
  
Aoi became angry. "So, Pluto, how did you know I was here,  
eh? Did you foresee my being here, eh?"  
  
At first, Aoi thought the woman's silence was mischievous.  
But the voice that replied was genuinely confused. "I... I did  
see you... in my mind.. just then..."  
"Hmm...." Aoi nodded. "Are you trying to feed me a line?"  
"N.. No... I... I'm not.."  
"Oh, spit it out, woman! I haven't all day."  
  
Pluto hung up. Aoi stared at the receiver, stunned. Well, of  
all the nerve! What was the purpose of her calling in the first   
place? To tell her she knew what was going on? Well, she didn't  
exactly present the most confident front, if that was the   
purpose....  
  
She thought about it a bit more as she put the receiver down.  
Pluto was a master manipulator. From what little evidence that had  
been gathered on her dealings with those outside the senshi, she was  
skilled in psychological manipulation and intimidation. That was  
what that phone call had been about.... An attempt to intimidate  
her out of investigating any further into the Sailorsenshi, or an  
attempt to place suggestions into her mind, to get her to find the  
killer of her comrade....  
  
She shook her head. It was as if these surmisings were being  
fed into her mind from an outside source. She steadied herself and  
tried not to think too hard.  
  
So, if that had been Pluto's intention... Something which she  
had failed to do... What was next on the cards? She knew,   
immediately. Personal intervention!  
  
Aoi threw the pad and pencil into her pocket and raced for the  
door, throwing it open. She stared around the complex for any sign  
of a figure. She saw nothing. Quickly, she shut the door and   
locked it, a procedure which took longer than she'd anticipated   
since she had to find the right key, first.  
  
After that, she ran along the pathway and down the stairs.   
She couldn't be damned if anyone heard her. The last thing she   
wanted to do right now was meet Pluto, face to face.  
  
She ran across the street and unlocked her car, throwing the  
door open. It was then that she felt the hairs on the back of her  
neck stand. Slowly, she looked to her left.  
  
She was silhouetted in the streetlight, but there was no   
argument who the figure was. Aoi let out a panicked yelp and  
jumped into the car as the figure began to step forwards. She  
slammed the door and jammed the keys in the keyhole.  
  
She turned the keys, and nothing happened. She turned them  
again and the car turned over. She selected a gear and looked in  
the mirror. The figure wasn't there. That could only mean...  
  
There was a tap on her window, and she looked up into the dark  
eyes of a shadowed face. She let out a cry and jammed her foot on   
the accelarator. The car sped off, skidding, the figure having to  
back away from the car as the rear tailed towards her.  
  
Aoi watched as the figure disappeared into the distance. The  
figure, dressed in that senshi fuku, holding the large staff that   
bore an amazing resemblance to a large key. She began to breathe  
easier as she turned to her left.  
  
That was TOO close, she thought. If I'm gonna face them, its  
gonna be on MY terms, not theirs.  
  
After several minutes, she pulled the car up at a set of   
lights, and collapsed over the steering wheel, breathing heavily.  
She began to chuckle to herself, unable to believe her blind luck.  
Slowly, she looked back into the rear-view mirror. Nothing there.  
Well, Pluto would have to be DAMN good to follow a moving object  
around with those transportation powers of hers.  
  
So where should she go now? Back to the SIU office? If there  
was anywhere she could expect Pluto to follow her, it was there.   
But where else was there she COULD go?  
  
The lights turned green, and she pulled away. The lights had  
a soporific effect on her, calming her stressed mind. She looked  
into her rear-view mirror again, her naturally high-strung nervous  
state not allowing her quite the rest she really needed after that  
kind of experience.  
  
There was somebody in the back seat!  
  
Oh SHIT!  
  
She spun her head to look at the figure. The first thing she  
noticed was that it wasn't Pluto. Second, the girl was smiling.  
  
"Hello." The girl said. "That was a nice getaway. I   
couldn't have done it better myse... Hey, keep an eye on the road!"   
The girl pointed forwards, and Aoi looked around. She was   
approaching a T-junction at some speed.  
  
She let out a short cry and jammed on the brakes. Her head  
flew forward and hit the steering wheel, solidly enough for her to  
see stars. The car came to a sudden stop, missing a guardrail by  
inches.  
  
The girl opened the rear left door and stood from the car,  
rubbing her head with embarrassment. "Uh, I guess she took that  
worse than I expected." She looked into the car at the semi-  
concious Aoi.  
  
"What am I going to do with her?"  
  
END OF PART 4  
  
DDFA ayanami@internode.on.net  
24th Feb 1998 


	5. SIU part 5: Strange Magic

S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Bandai and Kodansya. All  
other characters were thought up by me. Well, its true, isn't it?  
^_^  
  
  
Part Five  
Strange Magic  
  
  
Aoi opened her eyes to nothing short of a splitting headache.  
She let out a long groan, sitting up from wherever it was she had   
found herself.  
  
"Team One Leader to AK Central, subject has recovered, over."  
Aoi turned slightly to the clicking hush of a transceiver. A young  
woman... The same young woman she had seen in the back of her car,  
was standing over the other side of her loungeroom, leaning against  
the wall.  
  
"Copy that, Team One Leader. Be careful." Said a voice from  
the whoever it was she was communicating with.... A soft man's   
voice, strangely ethereal... But it lost much of its grace with  
the roughening of the airwaves.  
  
Aoi studied the young woman.... Barely older than eighteen,  
surely. She certainly looked small enough to be described as a   
girl. It was the expression that gave it away, though.... An  
increased guardedness that one did not usually find on a child's  
face. She was pale-skinned, had very long black hair and deep,  
dark eyes. She wore a red kimono with black patterning, which Aoi  
could have just died for.  
  
The young woman literally flipped the transceiver into the  
sleeve of the kimono, steppd forward and bowed. "I am terribly   
sorry about frightening you like that, Kikotsuka-san. It had been   
my intention to help you in the event of facing Pluto, but I am   
afraid things did not quite turn out as planned."  
  
"Oh... Great." Aoi rubbed her head dazedly, then looked   
around, only then realising that she was in her own house, sitting   
on her own loungesuite. "Uhh.. How did I get here?"  
  
"My friends and I brought you here. We thought it best that  
you recovered in a place that is familiar to you." The girl nodded.  
"I am terribly sorry, I have not yet introduced myself. My name is  
Hayakawa Arisa."  
  
"Arisa, eh?" Aoi tried to stand up, failed and fell back,   
again. "Owie, just how hard did I hit my head?"  
  
"Do not concern yourself. You were checked by our people and  
were found to be suffering no permanent damage."  
"Easy for you to say." Aoi stared dubiously at Arisa. The   
girl had a funny, clipped style of speech... Almost unnatural, as  
if communicating with ordinary people was below her.... It   
infuriated Aoi somewhat, but at least she hadn't acted in an   
unfriendly manner. With the exclusion of appearing in the back seat  
of her car....  
  
"Would you like to explain just how you got into the back of   
my car? I'm sure there was nobody in there when I got in myself."  
"That would be.... protractively difficult to explain."  
"Try me."  
  
The girl sniffed. "Very well then... I..."  
  
They were both disturbed by another young woman, who had   
stepped through the kitchen door. Slightly older than Arisa. "Hoi,   
would you like some cof... Ah, she's awake. Great. Would either   
of you like some coffee?" She looked from one to the next. Arisa   
turned aside and smiled at the new arrival.   
"I am terribly sorry, I must decline your generous offer.  
But I feel this good lady may wish to partake in such a beverage."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." The young woman turned to Aoi.   
"Well, I suppose you would like some?" Aoi studied her for a   
moment. A very different beast to Arisa, she was dressed quite   
flamboyantly, with an elegant dark dress and jewellery. Her dark  
red, slightly curly hair was tied up in a ponytail, and her eyes  
were, if anything, more penetratingly dark than Arisa's, if that  
was at all possible. She also had very tanned skin, which appeared  
to be natural, making Aoi jealous. She'd tried to get skin that  
tanned before and failed.... Gone straight red. Damn the hole in  
the ozone layer....  
  
"Yes..." She said, slowly. "I think I would." The young  
woman smiled, sweetly, nodding, then turned back into the kitchen.  
Aoi looked at Arisa, who was watching her companion leave. "Just  
who in hell was that?"  
  
"Ah..." Arisa turned to her. "That was one of my two   
partners. Her name is Maria Firenze. She is also an inheritor of  
her family's noble line. I would suggest you treat her with much  
kindness as she is not the sort to suffer fools, even if she may be   
less than endowed within the intellectual department."  
"I heard that." Maria said from the kitchen. Arisa smiled.  
Aoi just sweatdropped. Great, a pair of wannabe comedians.  
  
"Uh, yeah, right. Where is your other partner, then? Is she  
going to make a sudden appearance out of nowhere?"  
"In all likelihood, yes. Please do not be surprised when and  
if she does."  
"Oh, yeah, great." Aoi had had enough of this. "Now, would  
you like to explain everything? Just who the hell are you people,  
what are you doing in my house, how the hell did you get in my car  
and just what the hell do you know about Pluto?"  
  
"Ah, would you like me to answer those questions in that   
order?" Arisa smiled, sweetly. Aoi could have socked her one in  
the face at that point.  
  
"ANY order will do, as long as they're answered."  
  
Arisa gritted her teeth, looking for all the world as if she  
was in pain. "Please don't be so forceful with your enquiries. I  
shall tell you everything you want to know." She paused. "I have  
told you the names of both Maria and myself. My second partner is  
a Gwendoline Wright. She will make her presence felt if she so  
wishes, but she is not keen on meeting you, so I think it is very  
unlikely. We belong to an organisation called the Sacred House. I  
am quite certain you have never heard of it, and so I shall   
explain..." Arisa paused for effect. "The Sacred House has been  
in operation for longer than I have been alive... Longer than all  
of us. We are a group that attempts to... regulate.... for want of  
a better term... and maximise the potential of, magic."  
  
Aoi stared at her with boggled eyes. "Really?" She said,  
cynically. Arisa sighed, dropping her face.  
"I knew you would not believe this to be fact. I find it  
astounding, the human mind's capacity to overuse its... How should  
I term it... Its BS Sensor." Arisa looked embarrassed at using the  
term, as if it were too vulgar to have emanated from a mouth such as  
hers.  
  
Aoi nodded. "You betcha."  
  
"And you work in an arm of the police department that   
investigates the activities of the Sailorsenshi. I must say, I find  
your cynicism to be more than a little hypocritical." That put Aoi  
back in her place.  
  
"And so? Where is this leading to?" Aoi huffed.  
  
"It is leading to the fact that we have had our eyes on you  
for quite some time.... A few months, in fact."  
"W... Why me?"  
"Because, in maximising the usage of magic, the Sacred House  
has had in operation a program of regulating bloodlines. In doing  
so, we have removed the element of unpredictability... In other   
words, the inability to predict just who is going to inherit magical   
powers. In doing this, we have had to research the family trees of   
all of our subjects... Even following up 'whispered' lines of   
illegitimacy." Arisa smiled. "We discovered, over 700 years ago,  
whilst following the bloodline of the Yokuro clan, that an   
illegitimate child had been born to one Yokuro Hazuki, and a peasant  
girl by the name of.... Kikotsuka Madoka...."  
  
Aoi stared at her. Not having had even the vaguest interest  
in her family tree, she boggled that someone else, an organisation,  
so to speak, would be. "Are you trying to tell me that you're  
interested in me because I may or may not contain the powers of this  
so-called Yokuro clan? That I may be a descendant of this couple?"  
  
"Hai." Arisa said, simply. Aoi felt a slight nervousness,   
now, gripping onto the edge of the loungesuite she was sitting on.  
"Well, I can tell, you, I certainly haven't shown any signs  
of any magical powers.... I mean, I would KNOW if I had them,   
wouldn't I?"  
"Not necessarily. Especially not with one of the bloodline  
of Yokuro. Mind Predators use their powers naturally, often without  
thinking. Those who don't realise they have these powers can be  
immensely dangerous. It is fortunate, really, that the Yokuro clan   
has been one of the Sacred House's biggest supporters... Indeed,  
one of the founding families."  
  
Aoi stood, a little uneasily on her feet.... Arisa moved  
forward to help her, but she waved her away. Aoi then began to  
pace her loungeroom. "..And your appearance in the back of my car..  
That was done by magic, was it?"  
"Hai. I am a witch. One of the breed of Masters, capable of  
controlling all aspects of the powers which have been bred into our  
species by the Others."  
"The Others?"  
"Yes, another species entirely.... It was their interbreeding  
with human beings that brought about the rise of our kind."  
"Don't use the term 'our'. I haven't accepted your story as  
anything other than crap yet."  
  
Arisa flinched. "Must you use such vulgar language?"  
"I'm not the one who said 'BS Sensor."  
  
Arisa flinched again. "Yes, sorry about that. I did not  
intend to use such offensive language around you."  
  
Aoi sighed. "Never mind. What is your connection to Pluto?  
How did you know she was going to make an appearance, anyway?"  
  
"We were following you. It was simplicity in itself to listen  
in on all conversations coming from that apartment. We had all the  
relevant information on the occupant the moment you looked up her  
name on your office's mainframe."  
"You've tapped into the Police Network?"  
"Of course. We are legally affiliated to the police. We are  
well within our rights to do so."  
"I don't care... You aren't part of the Police Department....  
Are you?" She stared at Arisa.  
"My dear Kikotsuka-san. We ARE the law. We have been for   
some time. We allow your kind to exercise your various forms of  
social control and constraints as you see fit, as long as none of  
you upset the status quo."  
  
Aoi shook her head. "And why? Why did you follow me?   
Surely, not to tell me this? You could have done that at any time."  
  
Arisa shrugged. "Indeed, we could have. Now you know of us,  
we aren't going to leave you alone." She paused. "We are   
interested in the Sailorsenshi. We want their bloodlines."  
  
Aoi stared at her. "Their WHAT?"  
"We want their bloodlines. We want their magic. We wish to  
regulate and control it, lest it fall into the hands of our enemies.  
I fear what may happen if power, such as theirs, falls into the  
hands of the enemies of the human race."  
  
Aoi spluttered, disbelievingly. "I'm not listening to any  
more of this. I have no magic, I do not believe in secret   
organisations and I'm trying to solve the murder of a Sailorsenshi.  
Now please, remove yourselves from my apartment and my life..."  
  
"Does that mean you don't want your coffee?" Aoi turned to  
see Maria holding a mug in the doorway. Aoi facefaulted, slowly  
stepping over to her small dining table, sitting down and placing  
her head in her hands.  
  
"I think she wants the ooffee, Maria. She just doesn't want  
to see us." Arisa smiled. Maria shrugged and stepped over to Aoi,  
placing the coffee on the table before her.  
  
"I guess that means we should leave, then." Maria crossed her   
arms behind her head and stepped towards the hallway leading to the   
front door, near the door to the kitchen. She paused as Arisa moved   
up to Aoi.  
  
Aoi looked up at the girl, who gave her a serious expression,  
placing a hand on her shoulder. "You may not believe us now... But  
the future is an uncertain place." She put a card on the table,  
next to the mug. "You are destined to require our assistance,   
Kikotsuka-san. We know a lot more than you about the murder of the  
senshi."  
  
Arisa turned and walked away. Aoi watched her go. "Wait..."  
Aoi put out a hand, and Arisa paused, looking over her shoulder.  
"If you know something... Why don't you just say?"  
  
"Murders can cover the misdemeanors of those closest to us.  
The Yakuza merely took advantage of the situation to get back at the  
Sailorsenshi. The truth lies much closer to them." She paused.   
"Your keys and other items are sitting on the kitchen bench. Good   
morning to you." Arisa turned and stepped past Maria, who followed   
her into the hallway. Aoi watched and listened as the door opened,   
then closed behind them. She was alone.  
  
  
She picked up the card... A small burgundy-coloured plastic  
card with gold trimming. Flash, thought Aoi. On it was the name  
of Hayakawa, and a contact phone number. There was no address or  
specific organisation listed with either. Aoi sighed and picked up  
the coffee, sniffing it in case anything untoward had been added to  
its contents. Damn, thought Aoi, she put in too much sugar.  
  
Just as she took a sip, the phone rang. Coffee flew from her  
mouth across the table, and she cursed, putting the mug down and  
wiping her chin. She stood and stomped into the kitchen, where the  
phone was hanging next to the fridge.  
  
She answered. "Ehello. Kikotsuka answering service. Can I  
help you?"  
"Yeah, great, Kiko-san. Very funny." Kaji's lovely bass   
tones rumbled through her ear.  
"Yes, Kaji, what do you want?"  
"Ah, just thought you'd like to know. The SIU office..."  
  
Aoi's ears picked up. "What about it?"  
"They've been broken into. The mainframe is toast, as are all  
the filing cabinets."  
  
"What the f... When did THIS happen? I only left there about  
three...." She looked at the clock. 10.35am! She gawked at the   
time. Where had it all gone?  
  
"Three? Jeez, they might have been waiting for you to leave  
when they did it." Kaji's voice seemed concerned. "Did you see  
anything last night? Anything at all?"  
"N..no... There wasn't anyone around when I left. The last  
person I saw there was Akizuki-san... He'd come to visit..." A  
thought occured to Aoi. "Hold on a minute, Kaji..." She put the  
receiver on top of the fridge and ran to the front door, throwing  
it open. She blinked a couple of times, her eyes not used to even  
the admittedly pale light. Her unit sat on the front of one of the  
main streets in her local districts, so it was reasonably busy. She  
tried to spot Arisa and Maria, but failed. It should have been   
easy, considering how much the pair would have stood out... Aoi  
cursed and stepped back in, almost slamming the door behind her.  
  
She ran back to the phone. "Sorry about that."  
"What the hell are you doing there?"  
"I just had some... Uhh... company. Can you hang on about  
half an hour, I'll be there myself to have a look at the damage."  
She sniffed under her armpits. "Actually, make that 45 minutes."  
  
  
  
Aoi had to flash her i.d. at the entrance of the SIU carpark,   
something she hadn't had to do since her early days as a cadet of   
the police force. Then she had trouble finding a place to park her   
car. There were plenty of vehicles from various divisions here   
today. It wasn't every day that someone broke into a branch of  
the police, and Aoi was sure there were quite a few sightseers   
amongst this lot.  
  
Naturally, Kaji was standing out the front, waiting for her.  
She'd managed to squeeze her car between a marked vehicle and the  
retaining wall at the far end, then squeezed herself to get out of  
the door, cursing at the little room she'd been left.  
  
Kaji stepped over to her as she locked her car. She patted  
the vehicle. Good thing those girls had left it in the right   
parking spot out the back of her unit... She'd had complaints from  
the neightbours before about putting it in the wrong spot. She  
sniffed and turned to Kaji as he sighed.  
  
"I just gotta warn you, the Chief wants to see you."  
"Yeah, well, that's surprising news since I was the last   
person here." She moved from the gap between her car and the  
retaining wall. "Well, where is he, then?"  
"Top floor of the building, going over what is left of our  
records office." Kaji shook his head. "All those years of   
gathering this stuff, and they trash it in the space of a few   
hours." Aoi nodded. Kaji seemed depressed. He had been with the  
SIU for almost twice as long as she had, so had a greater attachment  
to the job.  
  
Aoi stepped through the front doors, which were being checked  
over. They had been smashed in. Aoi shrugged. They needed better  
security on the office, anyway, maybe this would convince them it  
was time to update things. She turned to the computer office,   
aghast at the damage perpetrated to the mainframe. Someone had   
taken to it with a baseball bat. A very heavy baseball bat. At   
least that was what it looked like. Fortunately, most of the   
information stored there had been downloaded into the Police   
Network, and would be salvageable.  
  
Shimazaki was standing in the office, staring as forensics  
went through the wreckage with a fine-toothed comb. If there was  
ever a time when the police took crime seriously, it was when it  
was perpetrated on themselves....  
  
He turned to her and shrugged. Speechless for once, thought  
Aoi, smugly. She stepped over to him. "And what would a member of  
Major Crime be doing, gracing the humble offices of lowly   
filekeepers like the SIU?"  
"Yeah, fuck you too, Kiko-san." He growled.  
"Woah, hit a nerve, have I? SIU important enough to be broken  
into but not Major Crime, eh? Guess we must have hit on something  
with this senshi murder case." Shimazaki shook his head.  
"Don't be so smug. This is only going to hold things up that  
little bit longer."  
"Wanna bet?" Aoi smiled and turned from him. He followed her  
for a short distance.  
"What do you mean by that? Hey, Kiko-san... Have you found  
something?" She ignored him and opened the door to the stairs.  
  
Two flights up, she exited the stairwell and entered the  
records office. It looked as if a tornado had hit it. Not the work  
of a normal bunch of vandals, this.  
  
The filing cabinets that once stretched from one end of the  
building to the other had been shredded.... Little pieces of metal  
piled amongst shredded bits and pieces of paper, cardboard and  
photographs, distributed neatly all over the floor. It wasn't hard   
to find the SIU Chief, a burly, aging man of sixty, standing in the   
middle of the room with forensic officers and others, trying to   
decide where they should start looking for clues as to who might  
have perpetrated this... act of wanton destruction. Aoi almost  
snorted at the description.  
  
The Chief spotted her. "Ah, Kiko-san. You have arrived at  
last. Now, perhaps, we can get somewhere."  
Kuburata, the head of the Forensics Department, who was   
standing next to the Chief, chuckled. "Yeah, and I'm Midorikawa   
Hikaru." The Chief ignored him and stepped over to Aoi, putting  
his feet wherever he could find an empty spot to put them, not an  
easy task for someone of his build.  
  
"I take it you were the last one here. Akunatsuka has told  
me.... You were here, using the mainframe earlier this morning,  
going through the psych records of the senshi."  
Aoi nodded. "Then he called me, asking me to go through  
the school records of the Juuban district for 92 through to 94,  
looking for any female student without parents, or missing at  
least one parent."  
  
"Why do I get the feeling he was trying to keep you out of the  
way of things?"  
"Probably because he has been hanging around that smug   
bastard, Shimazaki, for too long."  
"Don't say that too loudly. You know Shimazaki's old man is  
a bigwig within the office of the police minister in the Diet."  
"Yeah, about the only reason the useless little bastard is in  
Major Crime in the first place." She snorted. The Chief wagged a   
finger at her and guided her aside.  
  
"Now, I want you to remember absolutely everything that   
happened earlier this morning. Akunatsuka has told me everything  
you mentioned to him over the phone, and Akizuki has confirmed he  
met with you earlier this morning...."  
"I'm sorry, Chief, I really can't tell you anymore than that.  
It had been a long day.... I was tired, so I went home..."  
"And that's all... You saw no-one?"  
"Look, if I had seen anyone, I would tell you, wouldn't I?  
After all, its bad enough to think I might have been here when   
they.." She gestured to the room. The Chief nodded   
understandingly. "So, what are we going to do, now?"  
"About what?" The Chief blinked.  
"The Senshi case... About the killing."  
"Ah, yes. Well, did you find anything intersting in your   
searches?" Aoi paused for a moment, not knowing how to answer  
this just yet.... The Chief stared at her through slitted eyes.  
"Come on, Kiko-san, you're not very good at keeping things in. Did  
you find something or not?"  
  
"Nothing... that is connected to this case. There were still  
things I would have liked to look up on the mainframe...."  
"Well, you can do that back at Major Crime. They're moving us  
there until things can be sorted out here." he gestured to the   
room, helplessly. "That may be a while."  
  
She chuckled, shaking her head. "Was anything taken?"  
"Not that we've discovered. Looks like someone didn't want us  
involved in something."  
  
And I have a sneaking suspicion who that might be, Aoi thought  
to herself.  
  
"Oh, and by the way, they completed the autopsy on the   
senshi." Aoi looked at the Chief, blinking.  
"Find anything interesting?"  
"A Heart Crystal, for starters. Its being held in the labs   
for further investigation. On top of that, your favourite person in  
Major Crime found a transformation pen." The Chief reached into his  
overcoat and pulled out a plastic bag. "Its evidence, but we don't  
quite know what to do with it. As far as we know, it really doesn't  
have anything to do with the killing of the senshi. It was just   
there at the scene in the motel." He held the bag out to Aoi, and  
she could see the pen within.  
  
Slowly, she took it, holding it with almost reverential   
tenderness. For some reason, she felt immensely sad seeing it. She  
touched the portion of the pen where the planetary symbol was  
printed. For a second, it seemed to glow, then faded away.  
  
"Can I keep this? For a while, at least?" Aoi looked up at  
the Chief. He thought for a few moments, then nodded. "It can't  
do any harm. Just don't remove it from the bag. Its already been   
tested by forensics, and they've found nothing of interest on it,  
but its better to cover our arses in any case."  
  
She nodded and placed the pen in the pocket of her jacket.  
The Chief smiled. "Please be our guest and mourn the passing of the   
office as it once was. Everyone else seems to be. Just don't touch  
anything that might look vaguely like evidence." He turned and  
stepped back to where Kuburata and one of his officers were rifling  
through the wreckage on the floor. Aoi sighed and made her way   
around the edge of the wreckage to the windows, staring out into the  
carpark, thinking quietly to herself.  
  
Was this the work of Pluto? She certainly would have had the  
power within her to have done so. She was also certain that Pluto  
would do anything within her power to protect the identities of the  
Sailorsenshi, even if it meant halting the investigation into those  
behind the death of Pluto's comrade. And besides, it was likely   
that, after the events outside the apartment of the Kino girl, she  
would have come back here.  
  
Then there were those girls who belonged to the "Sacred   
House". They certainly seemed to know part of what was going on.  
Aoi cursed herself... Why did she turn them away like that?   
Because of their stupid story about the House and the bloodlines  
thing? She shook her head and gazed out the window.  
  
There was someone watching her from the gardens above the  
carpark. Her heart skipped a beat.... He was staring directly at  
her. No mistaking it...  
  
He was a good looking sort, too. Long brown hair, so long  
she could see it blowing in the wind. Thin, effeminate looks,  
dressed in black jeans, red shirt and black jacket with black   
ripple-soled shoes. But those EYES. They were so blue, even she   
could see them across the distance.  
  
He smirked, and she realised he must have known she'd seen   
him. He held up a finger, like a gun, pointing it directly at her.  
And then he fired. At that moment, he vanished.  
  
Aoi's eyes blinked a couple of times, then she shivered. What   
was it Arisa had said, about there being enemies of the Sacred   
House? Aoi turned and made her way out of the Records Office as   
quickly as possible....  
  
  
END OF PART 5  
  
  
DDFA ayanami@internode.on.net  
27th Feb 1998 


	6. SIU part 6: Concerto for a Rainy Day

S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Bandai and Kodansya. All  
other characters were thought up by me. Well, its true, isn't it?  
^_^  
  
  
Part Six  
Concerto for a Rainy Day  
  
  
Usagi had had a pathetically miserable morning, but somehow  
managed to convince a great many people she was still cheerful.  
  
*click* *reeee*  
  
After getting up early... a newfound responsibility having  
entered her lifestyle.. after all, with as much on her plate in her  
life, one would expect her to start being a good role model at some  
stage (that's what she thought, anyway)... she had opened her   
windows on the new morning to see that the sun might as well not  
have come up at all.  
  
*click* *reeee*  
  
Thick, dark grey clouds. So dark, some of them looked a   
peculiar shade of purple. It made her feel even more miserable   
after the events of the previous day, where she had failed to make  
contact with most of the people she considered to be her friends.  
  
*click* *reeee*  
  
Things had gone very strange amongst them over the past few  
months. There had been arguments that she was not personally   
involved with between certain members, culminating in something   
close to an all-in brawl between Makoto, Minako, Haruka and Setsuna  
a couple of days ago.  
  
*click* *reeee*  
  
She had to intervene that time. Neither Rei nor Ami seemed  
willing to, and she wasn't surprised. Hotaru, as usual, had   
remained aloof. Either she was as much in the dark over what these  
arguments were about as Usagi was, or she just didn't care.  
  
*click* *reeee*  
  
The only one who had even tried to help her pull the idiots  
apart had been Michiru, more because she was concerned for Haruka's  
safety than anything else. After all, the both of them had to drag  
the unfortunate tomboy from a headlock provided courtesy of Minako.  
Usagi never knew Minako was capable of that kind of thing, and   
certainly not on Haruka.  
  
*click* *reeee*  
  
After that, their meeting went to pieces. And Usagi had only   
just arrived! It was somewhat inconsiderate of them. They didn't   
even tell her what the fight had been about when she demanded   
explanations from them.  
  
*click* *reeee*  
  
With Mamoru overseas on a post grad study tour, she had been  
left alone to deal with the problem herself. She demanded, using   
her position as Princess Serenity, that they all meet once more the  
next day to explain what was going on. The only people to show up  
were Rei (unsurprisingly, since it was held at her shrine) and  
Setsuna, who seemed unwilling to explain anything unless the others  
were there. (How surprising that Setsuna was unwilling to explain   
anything, thought Usagi dubiously). Despite all her best efforts to   
contact the missing participants, she had not received any replies.  
  
*click* *reeee*  
  
And now, here she was, skipping her own college classes that  
she'd managed to fluke to get into, standing out the front of   
Makoto's apartment block, wondering why the hell she should be  
doing this kind of thing.  
  
*click* *reeee*  
  
And she had the strangest feeling she was being watched.   
Well, whatever the case, she was going to get answers, even if she  
had to threaten them with bapping the Ginzuishou over their heads!  
She stormed in through the front entrance and up the stairwell,  
along the path to the door to Makoto's apartment.  
  
And the door was open.  
  
Not wide open. Just ajar. And she could hear voices within.  
She shivered for a moment. She could feel something was wrong,   
here. Slowly, she put her hand on the door and pushed it open....  
  
"Usagi?"  
"Princess?"  
  
Hotaru and Setsuna turned to her, blinking. They stood in the  
middle of a loungeroom that had been comprehensively demolished.  
  
"Wh... What are you two doing in here?"  
  
"We came to speak with Makoto. This is what we found."   
Hotaru said simply, gesturing around the room. "I take it you had a  
similar idea?"  
  
"Umm..." Usagi stepped in slowly. "Where is Mako-chan?"  
  
"Don't know. There wasn't anybody in here when we got here."   
She shrugged and bent down to pick through the wreckage of the   
furniture on the floor. "Aww... Its that vase she made in her  
pottery class... it was so nice, too." She picked up pieces of  
glazed ceramic, staring at them sadly.  
  
Usagi levelled her gaze at Setsuna, who looked as if she'd   
just been struck by high energy laser beams. "Setsunaaaa!"  
  
"It wasn't me, Princess. I'm not the sort to do this kind of  
thing." Usagi looked at her dubiously.  
"It's rather ironic that I find you here so soon after the pair   
of you tried to throttle each other."  
  
Setsuna sighed. "I came here after I sensed someone with  
magical powers trying to scan my mind whilst I was asleep last   
night. It came from Makoto's apartment, so I rang here, and a woman  
answered. She has... Strange powers." Setsuna bit her lip. "She  
almost caught me off guard, like her thoughts were feeding off mine,  
so I decided to come here to meet her, face to face. But she got  
away. I left to bring Hotaru along, but when I got back..." She  
gestured to the room, helplessly.  
  
"So, this woman was involved in trashing Mako-chan's place?"  
Usagi wandered in, looking around. Setsuna shrugged.  
"I'm not sure. It seemed that someone was looking for   
something. There are quite a few items missing. Not to mention  
Makoto herself. Where she might be, I have no idea. I still   
haven't been able to contact the others."  
  
"Same here." Usagi looked worriedly. "Could something have  
happened to them?"  
"I'm not sure. If it has anything to do with what was going   
on between them..." Setsuna cleared her throat, turning away as if   
she'd said too much. Usagi grabbed her by the shoulder.  
  
"Setsuna..." She muttered, threateningly. "Are you trying to  
hide something from me?" Hotaru watched the both of them as Setsuna  
closed her eyes, sighing.  
  
"We had a fight because I'd confronted them.... They had   
been... When we were involved in breaking up the Yakuza family,   
we'd made some connections... I thought they'd break off those  
connections once that was over... It seems I was wrong."  
  
Usagi frowned... "What does THAT mean?"  
  
"It means we could all be up shit creek." Hotaru turned as  
Usagi stared at her. She continued rifling through the debris as if  
nothing was happening.  
  
  
Aoi sat on the railings that lined the front steps of the SIU  
office next to Kaji. The both of them were staring, absently, at  
those steps.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me this earlier? For that matter, why  
didn't you tell the Chief?"  
"Do you think anyone is going to believe me?"  
"Well, considering that it appears the Senshi are involved,  
somehow, it might be possible...." He shook his head. That was  
enough of a sign for Aoi.  
"I only told you because you used to look into these kinds of  
groups. Have your ever heard of one called the Sacred House   
before?"  
"I've heard the name mentioned in passing, although I've not  
heard anything about their activities. Not negative ones, anyway."  
  
Aoi sighed. "And are there any groups who may be opposed to  
them?" Kaji shrugged.  
"As I said. I know next to jack about them. All I've heard  
is that they were a kind of old world religious cult, going back a  
very long way. That and the fact that they're not strictly   
Japanese, even though they had their roots here." He chuckled.   
"Well, I never thought anyone would be looking in your direction  
as future candidate for Magic Girl of the Month."  
  
"Don't be stupid, Kaji. I'm kinda freaked out about all this.  
I mean, I've got some weirdo group looking up my family tree cos   
they think I might be good breeding stock for them, with the   
possibility that they have enemies with less scruples who are doing  
the same thing." She put a hand to her face and Kaji looked at  
her worriedly.  
  
"Well, now you've told me, what are you going to do about it?"  
  
Aoi raised her head and thought, then turned to him. "We go  
to Major Crime and use their system to check up on these names...   
I'm quite sure we shall be able to find someone to match them up  
with."  
  
"Won't that be playing into the hands of the Sacred House.   
After all, the real reason they are following you around might be  
because you're on the SIU and closer than ever before to finding  
out the identities of the Sailorsenshi."  
  
Aoi glowered. "No. They won't find out. Nobody is going to  
know but me." She stood and turned to him. "I want the   
satisfaction of knowing them. That is all. I'm not going to let  
anybody use them for... breeding stock." She sniffed distastefully.  
"It reduces human life to the same level of cattle or any other   
farm-bred animal."  
  
Kaji stood from the railing and nodded, and the pair of them  
wandered over to his car.  
  
  
"So that's her...." Sherrie leaned against the railing,   
staring down from the top of the building. She turned to Rumiko,   
who stood next to her. The dark-haired girl now wore a wide-brimmed  
hat, as if trying to cover herself from the effects of the weak  
sunlight.  
"Not much of a person, I must say. Almost 29 years old and  
trying to send herself to an early grave." She shrugged.  
"Do not underestimate her, Tani." The deep baritone of the   
man who stood nearby made them both turn.  
"Ah..." Sherrie smiled. "So, you have decided to join us on  
this operation, have you Joachim?"  
  
Joachim Schneider was a man in his eighties, yet you could   
have sworn his build was that of a wrestler in his early thirties.  
The only thing that gave him away were his white hair and goatie  
beard. He wore, as always, the expansive black coat that covered  
his dark grey business suit. This was completed with a dark hat  
and walking cane. He was the kind of person one couldn't help but  
notice, and it was amazing how many people did just that, mostly  
because of the lifestyle he lived.  
  
He had joined the Sacred House long before the likes of   
Sherrie and Rumiko had been born, and was now a senior member of the  
organisation. But he much preferred the personal touch when it came  
to operations like this. After all, it was because of Joachim that  
a great many members of the Sacred House had joined. Sherrie had  
been one of them.  
  
"Naturally." Joachim bowed slightly. "I am not so old that  
I cannot take an interest in your pursuit of the Kikotsuka woman."  
"Just like me, eh? Can't help but pursue the pretty ones."  
"It makes the job interesting." He smiled warmly, which was  
reassuring from someone of his size. He turned to Rumiko and nodded  
a greeting to her.  
"My greetings to you, Rumiko. Your father is well?"  
She nodded. "Yes, he has not been better."  
  
He then turned to the third member of their trio. A short   
young woman with equally short, dark brown hair and dark eyes. She  
was staring into space, distantly.  
"I see you have managed to get Keiko out and about, today."  
"Her father decided to release her from the sanctuary. She  
has been... Much better, lately."  
"Yeah, with the help of a stack of pharmeceuticals. If   
they're not careful, they'll blunt her powers." Sherrie sniffed and  
looked over at Keiko. "Hey, Keiko... Say hello to Mister   
Schneider."  
"Hello, Mister Schneider." Keiko said, without turning.  
"That's good, Keiko. Go back to what you're doing." Sherrie  
waved at her, cynically. Joachim clicked his tongue.  
"Now now now, Sherrie, there is no need to treat Keiko with  
such contempt."  
"I'll treat her less that way when I get a decent line of   
conversation out of her." Sherrie turned and looked back down at   
the SIU station. Joachim shook his head. He knew, despite her   
words, that teams such as Sherrie, Rumiko and Keiko were picked not  
only to balance out their powers, but also for their capacity to  
look after, and care about, each other. There was no doubt in his   
mind, due to past experience, that Sherrie cared about Keiko.  
  
"Has there been anything interesting since Team One made   
contact with the Kikotsuka woman?"  
"We reported in, not long ago.... Pagan Lacey was watching  
over her." Rumiko said, dutifully.  
"Lacey?" Joachim raised his eyebrows. "Strange that the   
Coven should have only him watching Aoi closely...."  
"Maybe they're shortstaffed." Sherrie snorted.  
"Hardly." Joachim rubbed his chin. "Are our information  
processors going over his records?"  
"Hai." Rumiko nodded. "They think the Coven may be intending  
to match Lacey with Kikotsuka. As bloodbonds go, it is as close to  
a perfect match one could find."  
  
"So Lacey is not yet bonded? Interesting." He turned to   
Keiko. "We have our family of Mind Predators, but the Coven do not.  
At least, nothing like the Yokuro clan. Nothing like Keiko, here.  
Maybe they can see, in Kikotsuka, the chance to take some of that  
Yokuro blood for themselves...."  
  
"From reports of her powers, it appears her blood is more than  
a match for a Yokuro." Rumiko turned to Sherrie. "Sorry, Sherrie,  
looks like he's given up on chasing you about."  
"Damn!" Sherrie snorted derisively.  
Rumiko turned back to Schneider. "I guess, now he's been   
redirected, he finds Kikotsuka's blood more attractive."  
  
"The question now is..." Joachim paused. "...Will she   
respond to his blood?"  
  
  
"What do you mean, there are groups after us?" Usagi stared  
at Setsuna as she checked the door, noticing how badly the locking  
mechanism had been damaged.  
"One has to expect there to be people with their own personal  
powerbases in a nation like Japan. Now, take that and transfer it  
to an international perspective. Each and every little country on  
the face of the planet has similar factions and groups, all of whom  
are pursuing their own agendas. Somehow, we have to set up the new  
Kingdom amidst all of that. Even with my foresight, its impossible  
to judge, sometimes, who may be with us and why, and who might be  
against us and why."  
  
Usagi's eyes spiralled with information overload. "But surely  
anyone who stands for what is right shall help us?"  
"A simplistic response to an all too complex situation,   
Princess. This isn't the Silver Millenium. There aren't just the   
few occasionally feuding principalities and kingdoms there were   
then. We have a plethora of groups, from international   
conglomerates, to political and religious extremists and even   
smaller cultural groups who would regard any attempt to exercise the  
ways of Crystal Tokyo over them as an act of cultural and racial  
genocide. Every way we turn, we are going to be looked upon by  
someone as the enemy, even if we mean well."  
  
Hotaru sniffed. "People just want to make things difficult   
for you, don't they? We risk our lives to save them and this is the  
thanks we get." She shrugged.  
  
"So just who are these groups who are after us, right now?"  
  
"Well, firstly, there are the Yakuza families. I don't think,  
with our powers, that we should be so concerned about them for the  
time being. Then there are the various factions within the Diet,  
the Japanese National Parliament. There are... some very active  
nationalist, royalist and right-wing groups in there who will regard  
our imposition of a royal matriarchy as a threat to their preferred  
order." She lowered her face, still staring at Usagi, who slowly  
seemed to be taking all this in. "And then, there are the major  
megacorporations for whom the almighty profit is more important than  
the rights and lives of individuals, and that includes attempts to  
silence inquiry into their less than savoury activities."  
  
"Come on, Setsuna. Be more specific than that. If anyone   
knows who is after our butts, its you." Usagi crossed her arms.  
  
Setsuna sniffed. "Its often not that easy, Princess. They...  
Sometimes there are groups within groups, pushing their own little  
agendas. And sometimes these groups within groups can be allies  
even though the organisation, as a whole, is an enemy, and vice   
versa."  
"But who are we most in danger of facing, right now?"  
"Well, there are three particular Yakuza families who want  
our heads. I'm quite sure of that. Then there are two quasi-  
religious groups that have often worried me. One is called the  
Sacred House, and the other is the Coven of Atrocity. The both of  
them were formed in Japan over 3000 years ago."  
  
Usagi and Hotaru stared at her. "3000 Years?!?!" They said  
in unison.  
  
  
"What do you think of her, Pagan? Does she match your   
expectations?" Pagan Lacey heard Lysithea's soft voice drawl from  
the other side of the table in the inner-city coffee shop. He   
turned from his blank musings through the window to the effeminate  
blond-haired man.  
"Umm... yes, I think you could say I'm rather intrigued."  
"She is a pretty one, although a little plain for my tastes."  
"Plain because she makes herself look that way." Pagan turned  
back to the window.  
"Whoo, do I detect someone who has it bad already?" Lysithea  
giggled and picked up his cup of coffee with unusual poise. Pagan  
turned aside.  
"You're just jealous because I've been more interested in   
women than you."  
"Thankyou." Lysithea sipped his coffee. "It is a waste,   
however, that someone as pretty as you should have no interest in  
me." Lysithea smiled and ran his eyes along Pagan's long brown   
hair. Pagan rolled his eyes.  
  
"And so, how are we doing with Takiro, then?"  
  
Lysithea sighed and shook his head. "Takiro Takiro Takiro.  
There are times when I could strangle that man."  
"That bad, huh?"  
"He's so obsessive, sometimes. And demanding. But then, I   
suppose you should expect it from him. He is the least settled of  
the pair of us."  
"Yeah, you could say that. Just don't start telling me about  
his bed habits, that's all."  
  
Lysithea giggled. "Oh, if only you knew." Pagan put a finger  
to his mouth and made gagging noises. He stood.  
  
"I better go. I'm getting this little voice in my head that  
things have just become interesting at an apartment block in   
Juuban." Lysithea smiled.  
"You'll pick up the tab, of course?"  
"Don't tell me you came without money, again?"  
"Hey, you can never be too careful on the streets, these   
days." Pagan sighed, shaking his head. He pulled his wallet from  
his pocket and opened it up, letting out a couple of moths.  
"Uh... yeah... I think that might be possible."  
"Hop to it, then."  
  
There were times when Pagan could strangle Lysithea. This was  
one of them. It was a pity they were cousins. Their family would  
be so upset....  
  
  
Usagi leaned against a wall, rubbing her forehead. Setsuna   
was rather impressed with her capacity to take in this kind of  
information. In days gone past, her brain would probably have  
exploded before Setsuna was capable of getting past the second  
syllable of an explanation. Hotaru, as usual, had slipped back  
into what Setsuna would describe as "cruise control". The info  
was going in, but was being placed somewhere in her head for later  
retrieval.  
  
"So... Is this Sacred House on our side, or what?" Usagi  
looked up at Setsuna. "From your description, their objectives  
seem similar to ours."  
"Hmmm... you could say that on a very simple level. Yes,  
they will defend humans against such threats. There have been   
times, when we have fought various enemies, that the Sacred House  
has been cleaning up things around us, making our fights rather  
easier than they should have been." Setsuna paused. "But then,  
the Coven has also been doing this. It depends on who they see  
as a threat to what they stand for."  
"So why were these groups formed?"  
"Well, you see, some 5000 years ago, after the collapse of  
the Silver Millenium, a race of beings who called themselves the  
Others, arrived on Earth. During their visitations, they interbred  
with humans, thus spawning a large variety of halfbreeds who were  
shunned or killed by fullblooded Others and Humans. Those   
halfbreeds who survived the purges formed groups to defend   
themselves from further attack. Eventually, these groups coalesced  
with others that had similar philosophies, and thus the Sacred  
House and the Coven of Atrocity were born... One that took the  
side of Humans, and the other that took the side of the Others."  
  
"And they want us because our magic might be useful to them?"  
"Indeed. Depending on which camp we fall into, I'm afraid  
our fate is to be no better than that of brood mares."  
  
Usagi thought for a few moments. "Could it be possible that  
the others have been snatched by one of these groups?" She gestured  
to the room.  
"I don't know if it could occur, since I've done my level best  
to hide our identities from their various prisings. But this has me  
worried. As I said, the woman who was in here had a strange power  
about her... And the fact that Makoto is missing...." Setsuna   
turned back to the door. Then stepped forward, quickly. "Princess,  
Hotaru... Take my hands, quickly."  
They both stared at her. "Why?" Usagi blinked.  
"Don't argue, or we'll be in trouble."  
  
The both of them nodded mutely and did so. In a flash, all  
three disappeared from the apartment, just as the door was pushed   
in, revealing three figures. A burly Japanese man with a short  
haircut that made him look remarkably like a sumo wrestler, which  
was very much the case, stepped in and peered around. He gestured  
to the other two. Pagan was the first to enter after him.  
  
"Bummer. Looks like they got away." Pagan turned back to  
the third figure, a blond-haired woman who was dressed in a simple  
blue dress, camera gear hanging around her shoulders. "Why didn't  
you call me sooner, Michelle?"  
"I tried. You were too busy lusting after the Kikotsuka  
woman. And besides, Nobuhiro here took forever to arrive, as well.  
I wasn't likely to charge in here on my own."  
"I have my commitments." Nobuhiro turned, flipping his arms  
into the sleeves of his beige and black kimono.  
"Oh well... At least I got some good shots of the blond chick  
with the silly hairstyle."  
  
Pagan smiled. "Hmm... Should make interesting viewing." He  
looked around the apartment. "Whoo, nasty. Who did this?"  
"Dunno. I just followed the Kikotsuka chick here and was told  
to wait and looksee. Could have been anyone."  
"But you didn't see anyone come or go?"  
"Nope. Not a person." Michelle shrugged. "Must've been   
someone like us. Might be the House is on the Senshis' tails as   
well."  
"In which case, they might have a head start on us." Pagan  
smiled. "I think it's worth making another visit on our intrepid  
policewoman...."  
  
  
END OF PART 6  
  
DDFA ayanami@internode.on.net  
4th Mar 1998 


	7. SIU part 7: In Light of Events

S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Bandai and Kodansya. All  
other characters were thought up by me. Well, its true, isn't it?  
^_^  
  
  
Part Seven  
In Light of Events  
  
  
The dark spaces of Fitchner's office gave the man some solace.  
But not a great deal.  
  
The heavy, thick set, grey-haired man sat back in his padded   
vinyl chair, staring into space, smoking a port cigar. The normally   
light blue-green walls of the office were muted, with but the pale   
light peering through the half-closed window illuminating things.  
  
His mind was in a similar state.  
  
For three years, he had been investigating the activities of  
the Sacred House. Now his employer had pulled the financial plug on   
him, and he didn't know why.  
  
Oh well, it was not as if there hadn't been other such jobs of  
similar nature and length. But this one had been special. This one  
had special meaning.  
  
He had lost his daughter to the Sacred House.  
  
Five years ago, when she was eighteen. She had travelled with  
him when he took up a posting in Tokyo for the company he had been  
working for at the time. She had made some friends. Odd friends.  
She went out one day and... Never came back.  
  
He had been looking for her ever since. He had founded his  
private investigation agency for that very reason, taking on various  
jobs to support his search.  
  
  
He watched as rings of smoke that emerged from his mouth   
floated upwards, shattering to nothingness against the ceiling. He  
had reported her missing, naturally, and the police spent some time  
searching for her. But rarely were they helping in telling him just  
what they were doing to find her, or even keep in touch with him.  
  
It was like beating his head against a wall. They just didn't  
seem to care. He wondered why they couldn't take his plight more  
seriously. And then the name "Sacred House" came up.  
  
He had no idea what the "Sacred House" might be. But it   
sounded suitably impressive.  
  
A religious cult, a secret society, an economic and corporate  
entity.... In his time investigating the Sacred House, he had heard  
it variously described as all these things. But never once did he  
actually find some base or branch for them, nor someone who would   
admit to being a member.  
  
He had been in the service of a Malcolm Wright, who had been  
looking for his own daughter, Gwen. Like his own daughter, Gwen had  
gone missing one day, and had never been seen since. It gave   
Fitchner a financial base upon which he could search for his own  
child. He never found a trace of her, but he did find information  
that lead him to Gwen. Or, at the very least, an old address of  
hers.  
  
It isn't hard, in a nation like Japan, to track down a golden  
haired, blue eyed, attractive young woman with supermodel looks like  
Gwen Wright. Even under ordinary circumstances, she would raise a  
fuss just walking down the street. But in Gwen's case, there never  
seemed to be a fuss made.... When he spoke to her ex-neighbours,   
they mentioned the fact that Gwen was often never home.... In fact,   
they had only seen her eight or nine times over a six month period.  
When she was home, she was terribly quiet. And whenever she did   
make contact with anyone in the local area, she seemed to know an  
immense amount about them. As one neighbour said, you couldn't so  
much as go to the toilet without her seeming to know precisely when.  
  
Eventually, despite his best efforts, the trail went cold. It  
was like Gwen had vanished into thin air.... And, of course,   
Malcolm Wright decided to end their arrangement there.  
  
And with it, his opportunity to find Michelle.  
  
He had sent his three-strong staff home, with pay, that   
morning. He needed time to himself, he said. Eriko was concerned  
about him, of course, but then, she would be. She was a good woman.  
Always had been since she joined him, right from the start....  
  
  
Too much. It was too much for him to deal with. Tears ran  
from his eyes, and he stubbed the cigar out in the ashtray that sat  
atop the desk.  
  
His gaze went down to the set of drawers that sat to his   
right, underneath the desk. Slowly, he opened the second, and   
stared at its contents.  
  
He reached in and pulled out the handgun. It glinted dimly  
at him. He checked its load. Two shots in it. He wondered when he  
had found the time to let the other rounds off....  
  
Slowly, he unhitched the safety catch. The phone rang. He   
looked back and forth between the gun and the phone. Great timing.  
  
He put the safety catch back on and placed the gun in the   
drawer, picking up the phone. "Hello?"  
  
"Hi, it's me. Just making sure you don't do yourself in. I'm  
fine, thought you'd like to know that. Sorry about the   
inconvenience.... I've been a bit busy over the last couple of   
years. Friends to see and places to go. Love you lots. Seeya."  
  
And the phone went dead. Fitchner stared at it. He could  
almost laugh. Michelle.... How DARE you?  
  
----o  
  
Minako clutched onto her satchel, watching the rain, and the  
people who walked past. She had been standing there for a good   
three hours, too scared to move. She was getting THAT feeling   
again.  
  
People stared at her strange expression. Many found   
themselves transfixed by her gaze. But she would always manage to  
break it, and turn away. Eventually, the shopkeeper whose store  
she had been standing outside was forced to move her along. She had  
scared off enough customers that day.  
  
Minako was positively terrified as she walked along the   
street. The rain fell on her head, and she felt it run down across  
her face, its filth-laden droplets running to her lips. The   
sensation of moisture against her mouth broke her, and she cried  
out, running like the Devil himself was after her.  
  
----o  
  
Setsuna was gasping for fresh air as she, Hotaru and Usagi   
landed in a secluded section of the local park. It had been such a  
rapid, unthinking transport, that Setsuna barely had time to plot an  
ultimate destination. In doing what she did, she had risked their  
lives. But it was necessary, for she had not been ready for the   
fight that would have occured if they had stayed there, and neither  
would Hotaru and their Princess.  
  
Usagi stared around her, confused about their location for a  
few moments before she saw the park's central fountain between the  
trees. She then realised she wasn't getting wet, which was unusual  
as it was raining so heavily here.  
  
"Nice job, Setsuna.... Right under the rotunda." Usagi   
looked up at the roof of the small, round pavillion. Hotaru nodded.  
"Must have taken a bit of quick thinking to get us here."  
  
Setsuna swallowed, then looked up at them as she lifted her  
hands from her knees. "A lot harder than either of you would have  
expected. That was a close one."  
  
"So. Would you mind telling us why we needed to run from   
Mako-chan's apartment so damn quickly?" Usagi crossed her arms and  
sat down on a small bench that lined the side of the rotunda.   
Setsuna shrugged.  
  
"What can I say? I detected a group of hostiles with magical  
abilities approaching the apartment door."  
  
"And that is all?"  
  
"Pretty much all. From what I could ascertain from their   
minds, they were members of the Coven of Atrocity."  
  
"Wonderful." Hotaru threw her hands in the air and turned,  
looking around. "They know who we are and where we are."  
"Not necessarily. They might not know who WE are, but Jupiter   
is another thing altogether."  
  
Usagi stood. "You mean they were responsible for...."  
"I didn't say that." Setsuna looked down at her. "I said   
they may know who Jupiter is, based on.... associated information.  
Information provided by the contacts we made within the Yakuza."  
  
Usagi paced around. "If this is true.... We must... make   
sure everyone is alright. We've got to round everyone up and cover  
our tracks... somehow."  
  
"Is that an order, Princess?" Setsuna looked at Usagi,   
raising an eyebrow. Hotaru turned and looked from one to the other.  
"Setsuna...." She said between clenched teeth.  
  
"It's... not an order. It is a suggestion. We've got to pull  
ourselves back into a defensive position. If someone out there does  
know the identities of one or more of us...." Usagi shook her head.  
"For all our sakes, I hope not. But if there is someone, and they  
are hostile towards us, then.... Then I dare suggest.... we must  
take precautions... that more people don't find out."  
  
Setsuna nodded and Hotaru shook her head. "Do you KNOW what   
that entails?" She ranged up on Usagi. "Do you realise what we may  
have to do to achieve this?"  
  
Usagi bit her lower lip. "Hotaru-chan.... You're the   
youngest of us...."  
"I'm seventeen, or have you forgotten?"  
"No, I haven't forgotten that. But you seem to have forgotten  
that you have a father out there, somewhere...."  
  
Hotaru spat contemptuously. "I know that. Do you think I  
don't understand? You have a set of parents, and a younger brother.   
And you've been a great deal closer to them than I have ever been to   
my father...." Hotaru looked down, her face a mask of troubles.  
  
"Yes, Hotaru. Try to imagine... what these kind of people  
might do if they find out about our families." Usagi shook her   
head. "Regardless of how distant you might have become from him, I  
think you would be most upset if they were to use him to get to   
you."  
  
Hotaru said nothing, turning and wandering away to the far end  
of the rotunda. Usagi watched her as Setsuna stepped alongside her.  
  
"She's like you, you know." Setsuna said softly. Usagi   
looked up at her.  
"How do you mean?"  
"She's an emotional one. She has trouble seeing things with  
the same sense of clarity that both Neptune and myself do. Even   
Uranus. Saturn feels things more deeply than you understand."  
  
"I understand well enough the depth of her emotions, Setsuna.  
You forget what I am capable of."  
  
Setsuna watched Usagi for a few moments, silently, then looked  
away. "I most certainly hope you do, Princess, because I fear most  
strongly what she may become if she...." Setsuna paused, then shook  
her head. "We are wasting time standing here. I will go in search  
of our number immediately, Princess." Setsuna gave Usagi a little  
bow, and vanished.  
  
  
Usagi stepped up behind Hotaru, placing a hand on her   
shoulder. The younger girl turned aside to her. "Do you know what  
you've done?"  
"Eh?" Usagi frowned.  
"The instructions you have given to us. You know how they   
will be carried out?"  
"I don't understand what you're getting at."  
Hotaru turned to her. "Do you understand the way Setsuna   
shall interpret those instructions?" Hotaru paused. "I have lived  
with her for nigh on four years, now. I understand, only too well,  
how she will carry them out."  
  
Usagi looked aside, then took a deep breath. "You're telling  
me she will kill those who may be a threat to us."  
"That's precisely what I'm trying to say. Setsuna does NOT  
see things the way you and I see them. Despite the many levels she  
thinks on... Or perhaps because of them, she is extremely rigid in   
her perception of duty."  
  
Usago shook her head. "Perhaps, Hotaru-chan, in this case,   
she needs to be...."  
  
----o  
  
Minako collapsed through the front entrance of her home,   
slamming the door behind her. She puffed, heavily, water dripping  
from her soaked body, as she leant against it with closed eyes.  
  
"Is that you, Mina-chan?" She heard her mother's voice, from  
the kitchen. She opened her eyes and swallowed.  
"Hai, Mama...."  
  
Her mother stepped into the hallway and took a good look at   
her daughter. "Oh, Mina-chan! You're soaking wet! What on Earth  
have you been up to?"  
  
"I... I got caught... in the rain..."  
  
"Why didn't you try to find shelter?"  
  
"I did... It was just... It stopped and I thought...."   
Minako stared at her mother, strangely, biting her lip. Her mother  
had seen Minako with that expression several times over the last few  
weeks, and it creeped her to the core. She shook it from her mind  
and strode forward.  
  
"Come on, you silly girl. You'll get the carpet wet. Let's  
get those clothes off, and take a shower before you catch yourself a  
death...."  
  
----o  
  
Kaji pulled his car into the multi-storey carpark of the Tokyo  
Metropolitan Police Main Office. After flashing his i.d. at the   
gate to the Duty Officer, he drove up three flights before finding a  
spot.  
  
"Busy day." Aoi muttered.  
  
"Nah, it's always like this."  
  
"Wasn't when I used to work here as a junior officer."  
  
Kaji shrugged and undid his seatbelt, opening his door. He   
looked back at Aoi as she sat, not moving an inch. "What's up with  
you, Kiko-san?"  
  
She shook her head. "I dunno. I guess I'm just worrying   
about these people who have been following me around...."  
  
"Don't be. They aren't likely to make a move on a Tokyo cop.  
Not an obvious one, anyway."  
  
"I dunno." Aoi undid her seatbelt, opening her door. She   
stepped from the car and shut it behind her, Kaji locking up as she  
stared over the roof.  
  
"Kaji...."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Is there someone standing on the building over there,   
watching me?" She pointed out through one of the open barred window  
spaces that ran the length of the level. He turned and looked, but  
just shrugged.  
  
"I dunno. It's too dark and too far to see."  
  
"I'm sure I saw someone...."  
  
He turned back to her. "Settle down, Aoi.... You're making  
yourself paranoid."  
  
"I AM paranoid. I don't like the feeling of people I don't   
know, stepping on my shadow."  
  
Kaji watched her for a few moments as she continued to stare  
out of the carpark, wide-eyed. He stepped around the back of the   
car and took her arm. She snapped to and looked at him.  
  
"Come on, stupid. You can't stand here all day, looking out  
for spooks." Kaji sighed. Aoi nodded mutely and allowed him to  
guide her to the entrance door.  
  
----o  
  
Minako stood under the spray of the shower, allowing the warm  
water to run over her body. The sensation felt incredible, yet   
somehow unsatisfactory. She opened her mouth and allowed the water  
to run down her throat. Once more, she felt an unsatisfied thrill.  
This was not enough. She needed more. She placed her mouth as   
close to the nozzle as possible and drank the water... Until she  
could drink no more.  
  
She collapsed onto the floor of the shower, holding her sore  
stomach. She was still thirsty, but she was full. Almost   
immediately, she began to bring the water up, coughing and choking.  
  
There was a knock on the bathroom door. "Mina-chan... Are  
you alright in there? Mina-chan?"  
  
Minako lifted her head, clearing out the last of the water  
from her mouth. "Hai.... I'm just feeling a little... off colour."  
  
"Not surprising, if you're going to walk through the rain the   
way you did." Minako could hear her mother's footsteps, walking   
away from the bathroom.  
  
Mina pulled herself up into a sitting position, on the floor  
of the shower, allowing the water to strike her on the head. An  
indescribable sense of shame and fear overcoming her.... She was  
going mad... surely... All these feelings she had been having over  
the last few weeks.... No, it went longer than that...  
  
Her constant need to be the centre of attention... To attract  
people to her... She wanted people to come to her... To be   
fascninated by her... Come into my web, said the spider to the....  
  
Now she was just being stupid. She stared at the water   
running across the floor of the shower towards the drain. The  
rivulets trickled in a manner that held her fascination.... She  
shook her head and stood, allowing the water to flow over her body  
once more, she grabbed the soap from the dish....  
  
----o  
  
Aoi stood in the ladies room, staring at herself in the   
mirror. Kaji was right. Even if there were all sorts of weirdo  
groups out there, following her, in all likelihood, they were just  
interested in her work, not her, personally.  
  
She washed her hands, slowly, allowing the lather of the soap  
to spread across the entire surface of her skin. Thoughts ran   
through her mind. Of her meeting with those girls this morning.  
  
Hayakawa Arisa. Maria Firenze.  
  
She took a breath. They were both younger than her. Arisa  
was even better looking.... Well, she thought so, anyway. Aoi   
stared at her features in the mirror. Dark brown, slightly wavy  
long hair, round face, pale complexion, deep, dark eyes.... She  
shook her head.  
  
She'd always been her own greatest critic when it came to her  
looks. And so she spent a great deal of time trying to make herself  
look ordinary.... Just like her mother.  
  
She shivered.... She didn't want to end up like her mother.  
But at 28, going on 29, the biological clock was starting to tick   
away.... She chuckled at that... It's not like she missed having  
someone, a man, around her life. She was quintessentially a loner,  
and preferred to be by herself, once away from the office. But   
still, her mother had married very late in life, and didn't give  
birth to Aoi until she was in her late thirties. Maybe some things  
were hereditary....  
  
  
The first she knew of his presence is when he grabbed her   
around the middle and spun her round. He then jammed his mouth over   
hers as she tried to protest, hitting him with her hands. He   
pressed himself against her, pushing her back against the sink   
bench. She lifted back one of her hands and made to slap him one,  
but he managed to get clear before she collected.  
  
"Mmm... Tasty." He said, licking his lips.  
  
"You!" She pointed at the thin, effeminate man with long   
brown hair and piercing blue eyes. "What the hell are you doing in  
here? Get out, before I call for someone!"  
  
He clicked his tongue, wagging a finger. "Now now now, let's  
not be hasty about this. I apologise for my forward behaviour, but   
I let my instincts get the better of my senses sometimes."  
  
"You're telling me." She wiped her mouth.  
  
"And besides, even if you do yell, nobody shall hear you. I  
have placed a silence wall around this room. Nobody shall come in,  
and you shall not leave until our business is finished."  
  
She pushed herself back against the bench. "What business   
would that be?" He chuckled, shaking his head.  
  
"Nothing like that, I can assure you. As I said, my instincts  
sometimes get the better of me."  
  
She relaxed, slightly, but not by much. "Who are you?"  
  
"You weren't very surprised by my comment on the 'silence   
wall'." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, how rude of me. My name is  
Pagan Lacey, and I am an operative of...."  
  
"The enemies of the Sacred House."  
  
Pagan opened his eyes wide in surprise. "Ah, so they have   
warned you about us, previously, have they?"  
  
"You could say that."  
  
He nodded, putting a hand to his chin. "Yes, indeed, they are  
very quick off the mark. Well, I suppose they've told you why they  
have been watching you?"  
  
"It has been mentioned in passing. And I suppose it is the   
same reason you are watching me?"  
  
Pagan smiled. It was one of the sweetest smiles Aoi had ever   
seen. Despite his overly forward nature, Aoi couldn't help but feel  
something for this Pagan Lacey. "Ah, yes, well... My involvement  
is a little more personal than that. You see, the Coven of   
Atrocity... Ignore the name, it's a misnomer... The Coven wished  
to match me with you."  
  
"Do they now?"  
  
"Indeed. They say our bloodlines are perfectly matched to   
produce children of power...."  
  
"Like horses at a stable."  
  
Pagan chuckled. "Looks like you catch on to the idea quickly.  
I think its pretty silly, too, but I thought it was well worth   
warning you about it."  
  
"Thanks for your advice. Can I go, now? I have a job to do."  
  
"Ah, not just yet... I am lead to believe you visited the   
home of one Kino Makoto early this morning..."  
  
"What about it?"  
  
"Did you know someone has turned that place upside-down   
since?" Aoi stared at him.  
  
"Eh?"  
  
"We followed you there, and kept watch. In that time, we saw  
a young woman enter the apartment." He reached into the pocket of  
his jacket and pulled out a photograph. "Hai kore..."  
  
She took the photograph and stared at it for several moments.  
He watched her expression.  
  
"Interesting, is it not?" He smiled.  
  
"This girl... This is..."  
  
"This is...?"  
  
"I've never seen her before. Can I keep it?"  
  
Pagan facefaulted. "Uh, yeah, you can keep it."  
  
"Good. Have you reported the break-in of the girl's   
apartment, yet?" Pagan shook his head.  
"We don't want to get too involved. Besides, we don't know   
who did it yet." He shrugged. "It could be the Sacred House. I  
can promise you, it wasn't us."  
  
"We shall see." She nodded to the door. "Can I go, now?"  
  
Pagan sighed and nodded. With a flash, she could hear noises  
coming from outside the doorway, only then noticing how silent   
things had been up to that point. She smiled.  
  
"Thankyou."  
  
He bowed. "Anything for her most gracious majesty."  
  
"Oh, and by the way...." She levelled her gaze at him as he  
looked up.  
"What?"  
  
"If you ever pull something like that on me again, Coven of  
Whatever or not, you'll be dancing the Nutcracker Suite, do you  
understand?"  
  
He sweatdropped, crossing his legs. "I gotcha."  
  
He vanished from the ladies room. Just like he did from the  
garden area above the SIU car park. She sniffed... You get to see  
a lot in this line of work.  
  
She looked at the photograph again. So, Sailormoon, this is   
what you look like in real life, is it?  
  
  
END OF PART 7  
  
DDFA ayanami@internode.on.net 


	8. SIU part 8: An Inquiring Mind

S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Bandai and Kodansya. All  
other characters were thought up by me. Well, its true, isn't it?  
^_^  
  
  
Part Eight  
An Inquiring Mind  
  
  
Pagan stared through the window of the little coffee shop at  
the Tokyo Metropolotan Police central office building. He'd ducked  
into the shop to get away from the maddening rain that only now   
appeared to be lifting. A pall of gloom being replaced by a more  
hopeful light.  
  
He thought about Aoi and how good she tasted when he'd kissed  
her. A peculiar ability of his... To virtually taste a person's   
mind, body and soul through a kiss.... And Aoi had something of an  
exotic flavour. A slight bitterness, mixed in with something else,  
indefinable....  
  
  
He ran a finger along the edge of his coffee cup, wondering   
if Aoi knew of the link between them he'd planted at that moment...   
He hated using underhanded methods like that, especially on someone   
like Aoi. However, it was thought that, of all people, she would be  
the most likely to discover the identities of the Sailorsenshi,   
calculating the strange genetic makeup that she contained would lead  
to true sight.... the inability to be fooled through the use of   
visions. If anyone was going to see through the magic the   
Sailorsenshi used to hide their identities, it was going to be her.  
  
He took a sip of the coffee. A little cold. He preferred it  
that way. He disliked coffee when it was too hot. Placing the cup  
down he stared around the shop. The woman who ran it had been   
staring at him. He smiled back, sweetly. Oh well, it isn't   
everyday that these places had foreign customers, even if he'd lived  
in Japan for 25 of his 27 years.  
  
He guessed it was the colour of his eyes. The bright   
turquoise-blue had always been something of an... eyecatcher... for  
want of a better term. It was that eyecolour that caught the   
attention of one of the coven's "talent scouts". He had been living  
with his Uncle's family after the death of his parents, virtually  
growing up with Lysithea, his cousin of the same age.  
  
It was when they had both reached Senior High that a teacher,  
who had been a member of the Coven, decided to test them, bringing  
out their powers to the fullest.... Of course, it almost cost the  
teacher his life, considering he'd challenged them by kidnapping a  
schoolfriend of Pagan's and demanded a showdown in the schoolgrounds  
at midnight....  
  
  
The members of the Coven's clean-up squad had to peel the guy  
from the gym wall before they could apply medical treatment. All  
Pagan could think of was Miyuki, his unfortunate friend. The poor  
girl had been madly in love with him, and all because of that she'd  
had to endure this....  
  
Miyuki.... He wondered where she was now. Not that it   
mattered much, anymore. Feelings change with time. She was   
probably married to a salaryman with three kids and chained to a  
kitchen sink for the rest of her life. He sighed. Now he was just  
depressing himself.  
  
  
"Mind if I join you?" Said the soft and slightly husky voice.  
Pagan looked up at Sherrie and smiled.  
  
"Please do. I'm not doing anything in particular."  
  
"So I see." Sherrie smiled and sat in the seat opposite. Her  
sudden appearance in the shop gave the owner and the other patrons  
something of a start. Sherrie was not exactly the most   
inconspicuous individual, not with hair as red as hers, and tended  
to cause something of a stir wherever she went.  
  
"So what brings you to this part of town?" Pagan looked down  
at his cup. Sherrie giggled.  
  
"The same reason as you, I suppose. I take it that is the   
reason you are here?"  
  
"I don't know. Should there be a reason for my being here?"  
  
Sherrie shrugged as the owner placed a cup of coffee in front  
of her. She nodded at the owner politely and turned back to Pagan.  
"You find her more interesting than me?"  
  
"Hmmm.... I don't know. Maybe I could start a harem."  
  
"Not likely. Not with your choice of women."  
  
Pagan smiled. "Do I detect a spark of jealousy within you,  
Sherrie? That I've stopped chasing you?"  
  
Sherrie snorted. "Hardly. It's nice to have you off my back.  
Besides, it was never likely to happen, not with what we've aligned  
ourselves with...."  
  
"Indeed." Pagan nodded. "It is a pity you opted for the   
House. You would have liked the Coven so much more. You certainly   
would have fitted in far better, there."  
  
"I guess I made my own choice in the matter. Not that I   
really had much of a choice. If it had been up to me, I'd have  
chosen neither." She crossed her legs, leaning her chin on her   
right hand.  
  
Pagan raised an eyebrow. "Neither? So your allegiance is not  
as strong as suspected. I'm sure my superiors would be happy to   
hear that."  
  
"Don't flatter yourself, Pagan. I'm not going to switch. Not  
for you or your superiors."  
  
"Yes. I'm sure." He smiled, snidely. She shook her head and  
took a sip of her coffee, looking aside through the window.  
  
"I wonder how long Rumiko and Keiko are going to wait. Oh   
well. I don't suppose they'll mind. It's not like they're doing  
anything."  
  
Pagan turned and followed her gaze. Sitting in a car, parked  
some distance away, he could see Sherrie's two partners. Rumiko was  
watching them intently. Keiko... Well, she was staring out of the  
window at the pattern of the clouds in the sky. He hated Keiko...  
She was the scariest of all the House's operatives, simply because  
she had no sense of self-control when it came to using her powers.  
In fact, she didn't have too much sense in anything at all. He  
sweatdropped, slightly.  
  
"You know how to make a guy feel welcome, don't you?" He  
turned back to Sherrie, smiling. She mirrored the smile.  
  
"Oh yes. I guess you can say that." Her smile disappeared.  
"I'm warning you, Pagan. The House has their dibs on the Kikotsuka  
woman, and the Sailorsenshi, when their identities becomes clear.   
You shall find your infatuation with the woman cut short. Give it   
up before you get hurt."  
  
"Is that a threat? It certainly sounds like one to me."  
  
Sherrie looked into the air, nochalantly, then nodded. "Yes,  
I think you could define it in such words." She looked back. "Both  
you and I know what might happen when the Sailorsenshi come up for  
grabs. It'll be an all out war.... I dare suggest the safest thing  
to do is be as far from the eye of the storm when it hits. And that  
woman will be close to the centre when it blows through."  
  
"Ah, you're jealous. I can see it now." He pointed at her,  
sticking his tongue out at her. "You're just used to playing me  
around, and now I'm interested in another woman you don't like it."  
  
Sherrie shrugged. "Think what you want to think." She paused  
for a moment, then sniffed the air. "I can smell blood. Someone or  
something is dying nearby." She stood. "Not good for my instincts  
to hang around where the scent of death is strong."  
  
Pagan sighed as Sherrie walked up to the counter and payed her  
bill. He watched her as she walked out of the shop and over to the  
car. Oh well, at least she didn't try to eat him this time.  
  
----o  
  
"Was that entirely necessary?" Rumiko looked aside at Sherrie  
as the redhead sat in the back seat of the car. Sherrie made a face  
at her.  
  
"Schneider seemed to think so. Make our presence known to   
them, he said."  
  
"I don't think he meant a lovers' tiff when he said that."  
  
"Well, it'll have the desired effect. It'll rattle Lacey a   
bit." She leaned forward, between the front seats, pointing.   
"Look, there he goes now."  
  
They watched as Pagan exited the door to the coffee shop,   
looking up at the sky. He pulled his jacket tighter around his neck  
and started walking away.  
  
"Ah, such studied nonchalance." Sherrie smiled. Rumiko   
sighed and started the car.  
  
"He doesn't look all that worried to me." Rumiko looked back,   
checking traffic, then turned the car into the street, following   
Pagan slowly. Sherrie placed a hand on Rumiko's shoulder.  
  
"Can't you smell it, Rumiko? He's afraid. I can hear his   
heart beating, quickly. I can smell the cold sweat. He's alone   
with us on his tail." She licked her lips.  
  
"Knock it off, Sherrie. We're not hunting today. Besides, I  
thought you told me you'd taken your medication."  
  
"I did. But sometimes the urges are strong." She turned to  
Keiko. "Ain't that right, Kei-chan?"  
  
"Hai..." Keiko said, simply, not turning their way. The girl  
began to wave her fingers in front of her face. Sherrie shook her  
head and sighed.  
  
"She's at it again."  
  
"What?" Rumiko looked aside at Keiko, then shook her head.   
"Oh, that. Ignore it. She's always doing that. People with her  
condition normally do." Rumiko then hit the brakes, causing Sherrie  
to fly forward about a foot. After almost planting her face into  
the handbrake, she picked herself up and looked at Rumiko   
indignantly.  
  
"Hoi! What did you do THAT for?"  
  
"Because Lacey has made a jump. He's not here, anymore."   
Rumiko pointed at the portion of footpath Pagan had been, and   
indeed, he was no longer occupying it. Sherrie smiled.  
  
"Ah, he thinks he's going to get away from me that easily,  
does he? Well, I have a little surprise for him." She opened the  
left side rear window and sniffed the air. "Three miles south east  
of here. By a canal, of all places. He's getting sloppy with those  
jumps."  
  
"And you can tell all that from just sniffing the air?"   
Rumiko looked back at her.  
  
"My dear, if I told you the kinds of things I can work out   
just using my sense of smell, you'd want to wash yourself for a week  
before you ever did anything around me." She smiled sweetly. "Now  
let's make a move before he decides to."  
  
----o  
  
Aoi stepped up behind Kaji as he struggled with one of the   
Major Crime division's computers as only a true technological   
Luddite could.  
  
"Got as far as putting in your password yet?" She leaned over  
his shoulder. He grumbled. "Now now now, there is no reason to be  
like that."  
  
"I hate these things. Never do what you want them to do."  
  
"Aha, we have discovered what everyone else has known for a   
long time. Careful you don't do anything that will crash the entire  
police network."  
  
"I think I have. Several times."  
  
Aoi chuckled as Kaji struggled to stop the machine listing out  
the names of fine defaulters in the greater Tokyo area since the   
early 1980's.  
  
"Move over and let me show you how to get it to work, you   
goit." Kaji smiled and stood, gesturing to the seat he vacated.  
  
"Be my guest."  
  
Aoi shrugged and sat down, instantly stopping the scrolling  
screen with the touch of a button. Kaji mumbled something inaudible  
and started to pace behind her as she brought up the photographic  
image files of the Sailorsenshi.  
  
"These are the best images we have of them. The clearest  
pictures of their faces." Aoi pointed to the screen. "These images  
have played on television, yet nobody has recognised them."  
  
"Because of the magic that masks their identities, yes." Kaji  
continued pacing.  
  
"So, it would be logical to assume that, if we had a   
photograph of one of them in civilian guise, we wouldn't recognise  
them from a bar of soap."  
  
"But you've already been able to pick out one of them. Or so  
you've told me...."  
  
"Shh... Not so loud, 'kay?" She waved at Kaji, who bit his  
lip. After a quick look around the open plan office to make sure  
nobody heard them, Kaji turned back to her.  
"Sorry..."  
  
"We don't want everyone knowing that I know who one of them  
are. Can you imagine what would happen then?"  
  
"We'd lose control of the investigation. Not only into the  
Sailorsenshi, but the murder as well...."  
  
Aoi nodded. "They'd move the investigation on to... more  
'worthy' officers. And we poor bastards would have to sit back as  
they wrap everything up and take all the plaudits."  
  
"You have a real mean streak in you, you know that?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I mean, what have these girls ever done to you that makes you  
want to expose them so much?"  
  
Aoi blinked a couple of times. "Uhh... Because it's my job,  
I suppose. Why else would I want to?"  
  
Kaji sighed. "So, what is the point of bringing all this up  
about photographs?"  
  
Aoi smiled and pulled the photograph of Usagi from her pocket,  
placing it next to the picture of Sailormoon on the screen. Kaji  
looked from one to the next.  
  
"So?"  
  
"What do you mean, so? Kaji, this is a photograph of   
Sailormoon in her civilian guise."  
  
"It is?" Kaji studied the photograph. "Looks nothing like  
her." Aoi facefaulted.  
  
"The girl has blond hair and wears it up in long ponytails.  
How many more Japanese girls do you know with blond hair?"  
  
"Umm..." Kaji thought for a bit, and Aoi put a hand to her  
face.  
  
"Don't try and think too hard, Kaji. The answer shall be   
close to none. Blond isn't a very common genetic trait amongst us."  
She sighed and placed the photograph back in her pocket.  
  
"Alright, then, but that doesn't bring us any closer to   
finding out her name."  
  
"It does if I use the same method I used before to expose the  
Kino girl." She turned and closed the files she had opened,   
choosing to look into the Juuban school records once more. She  
sweatdropped. "Ah, forgot about this system's wonderful search  
program...."  
  
----o  
  
Minako lay on her bed, shaking. It almost felt like   
withdrawal symptoms... At least, she intellectualised it that way.  
It was difficult to think about anything else, after the events with  
the shower....  
  
Her mother ultimately decided, after she had been in the   
shower for nigh on 45 minutes, to open up the bathroom door and see   
what she was doing. At that point, Minako was trying to lap up the   
water on the floor with her tongue like some thirsty animal. It was   
at that point that her mother decided that Minako was either sick,   
required professional help or both.  
  
Whatever the case, she'd handed her daughter a new set of   
clothing, and had ordered her to take a good lie down.  
  
  
She sat up. On the edge of the bed, holding the mattress as   
if she were about to topple off. It looked like a good lie down   
was going to do its best to avoid her. This was the seventh time   
she had done this. She did it in an effort to regain some control   
over what was happening to her.  
  
And that was what frightened her the most. She felt out of  
control. The tightening sensation in her chest and throat, like an   
encroaching heart attack. The panic seizure was almost impossible  
to settle. The more she thought about it, the worse it got. The  
worse it got, the more she thought about it. Something that slowly  
fed on itself....  
  
She stamped her feet on the floor. Everything seemed to be  
spiralling in on her. She wanted to be free of these feelings, but  
was afraid of what that meant... What it would take to achieve   
this.  
  
  
And who could she turn to, now? She had been avoiding the   
others ever since the fight that had broken out between Makoto and  
Setsuna. Haruka had gone to Setsuna's defence, and so she decided  
to lay in herself. She was just surprised by the violence and fury  
with which she achieved this....  
  
There was even a point where she had been sorely tempted to  
tear out Haruka's throat. It would have been SO easy to do...   
She'd had the young woman in a headlock, and was easily overpowering  
her. It was surprising how strong she had become in recent times...  
  
Of course, Michiru managed to remove her from the grip. And   
she felt monstrously guilty for what she'd done ever since. Which  
was why she had chosen to avoid them all.... She'd even forgotten  
what the fight had been about in the first place. Talk about being  
an airhead.... A violent airhead, at that.  
  
She stood and stared out of her bedroom window. Even Artemis  
had abandoned her, yesterday. Normally he'd be wandering around,  
watching out for her, or curled up on the end of her bed. His   
disappearance had left her feeling lonely.  
  
She'd felt this feeling before.... When Adonis.... She shook  
her head. That was different. She'd always had this great   
emptiness within her... An emptiness that could only be filled by  
the social. Now she was closing off those pipelines that fed her  
hungry soul, to be replaced by another hunger far more disturbing  
than she could imagine....  
  
"Enjoying the view?" Setsuna asked from behind. Minako   
wasn't even surprised by the Guardian of Time's unexpected arrival  
in her bedroom. She could... smell... the woman as soon as she had  
appeared. The scent of her sweat, her skin, her blood....  
  
"You might say that." Minako turned. Setsuna frowned at the  
girl's expression. The way her eyes looked at her.... She shook  
her head, removing the blond's strange gaze from her mind.  
  
"I'm afraid you'll have to come with me and join the others,  
Venus. We're in the poop up to our necks, for want of a better   
term."  
  
"Really?" Minako didn't seem interested. Her gaze was   
levelled more at the open collar of Setsuna's jacket, now. Setsuna   
looked down at where she was staring, then back up again.  
  
"Are you alright, Venus?"  
  
"Perfectly, thankyou."  
  
"Then perhaps you'd like to take my hand?" Setsuna reached  
out. Minako smiled and took the hand, dreamily.  
  
"Shouldn't I tell my mother that I'm going out?"  
  
"Right now, we need to retreat and consider our options. I'm  
afraid our identities might have been exposed by hostile groups..."  
Setsuna paused as Minako touched her shoulder, gently. "What are   
you doing, Venus?"  
  
"Your skin..."  
  
"What about it?"  
  
"It's dark. It looks so healthy...."  
  
Setsuna paused for a moment, staring at Minako, thinking. "I  
think we had better get back to the others, don't you agree?"  
  
"Oh yes, the more the merrier." Minako smiled. With that,   
the two of them disappeared from the room.  
  
----o  
  
Joachim Schneider raised an eyebrow as he read the research  
paper, written by members of the Sacred House's scientific and   
historical departments. He strode around the shrine room, watched   
by Tani Genzaburo, who knelt on the top step of the shrine stairs,  
The older man's footsteps echoing through the shrine chamber.  
  
"Fascinating. The idea of linking the Sailorsenshi with this   
had never even entered my mind."  
  
"We have been researching for some time on the origins of the  
powers posessed by the Sailorsenshi, Schneider-san." Tani nodded.  
"There is no doubt, these powers predate the arrival of the Others  
on this planet."  
  
"An older power than our own. I find the concept frightening,  
to say the least." He turned to Tani. "Who else within the High  
Executive knows of this?"  
  
"Most of us, Schneider." Said a husky voice. From the   
shadows emerged a pale-skinned figure of a young woman, with short   
albino-white hair and powder-white eyes, lined with black eyelashes  
that made her eyes stand out in an almost manic gaze. She wore a  
severe black business skirt, blouse and jacket, matching the  
atmosphere that surrounded her.  
  
Carey West was the Operations Manager for the Sacred House.  
Although only 28, she had managed to reach this position quickly   
through various methods of diplomacy and intimidation. And she had   
a lot to back up her intimidation.... One didn't argue with a   
member of the West bloodline.  
  
"So, now we have some historical perspective on the   
Sailorsenshi.... How did we put two and two together?" Schneider   
looked from West to Tani. Gen shrugged.  
  
"Even though our organisation is only 3000 years old, or so,  
we do carry records dating back far further than that..."  
  
"Records that go back to a golden era in the history of this  
planet. Or a Silver one, to be more precise." Carey continued his  
train of explanation. She strode forward, making a gesture of faith  
to the shrine as she did so.  
  
"Yes, I have read them you know." Joachim took a breath.  
  
"The Silver Millenium." Gen looked at Joachim, who nodded.   
"We'd always considered it to be a myth. Certainly, the records we   
have salvaged about its existence are written in the form of   
religious doctrine...."  
  
"It seems to be the origin of many forms of faith and   
mythology. A combination of the single-god doctrines and animist  
faiths. We'd always regarded it as such, and that included the  
myths of its downfall, and the promise of resurrection." Carey  
stopped in front of Joachim. "It would seem those promises might  
have come to light."  
  
"The Sailorsenshi are the 'promised ones' of mythology..."   
Joachim rubbed his chin. "Interesting. And I'm sure the Coven   
shall have come to this conclusion, also."  
  
"No doubt about it." Gen stood. "They have much the same  
records as we do."  
  
"It gets worse." Carey looked grimly between Joachim and  
Gen. "We have calculated that, if their spirits have been reborn  
into new bodies, it is most likely that those bodies have been   
imbued with power. The power of our kind."  
  
"A kind of defensive mechanism.... To make sure they made it  
to the point where their Sailorsenshi abilities came to the fore,  
they were born into lost lines of the Others." Gen slowly descended  
the stairs.  
  
Joachim looked down at the papers. "So, in a way, they are  
connected with us." He bit his lip. "I'd hate to think what would  
happen if one of them were to be born into one of the more dangerous  
breeds, and went out of control.... Who knows what would happen if  
someone with the powers of a Sailorsenshi were to go on a feeding frenzy...."  
  
  
END OF PART 8  
  
DDFA ayanami@internode.on.net  
18th Mar 1998 (Happy birthday to me ^_^) 


	9. SIU part 9: From Soldiers to Wizards

S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Bandai and Kodansya. All  
other characters were thought up by me. Well, its true, isn't it?  
^_^  
  
  
Part Nine  
From Soldiers to Wizards  
  
  
Aoi paced the floor behind the chair. She was at her wits end  
in her search for a photographic match of the shot Pagan had given  
her. Kaji, having long since bored of her trawling of the school  
photographic records, had left for places unknown. He'd said that  
he would be back at some time.  
  
Now it was way past lunch, and she was starving. All she had  
to comfort her were her cigarettes, and even then, she would   
nervously glance at the fire extinguishers, set in the ceiling. She   
had been promised that they wouldn't go off with something as   
insubstantial as cigarette smoke, and there certainly wasn't any   
workplace ruling about smoking within the building. There were   
enough people around her, puffing away, to certify that. But it had   
always worried her.  
  
She looked across the partitions that separated the small   
office segments. She hated the concept of open plan offices. They  
denied aspects of personal space and privacy, and in Tokyo these   
were two very limited resources.  
  
Of course, all the really important members of the division   
were given private offices elsewhere in the building.  
  
  
Shimazaki and Katarin had been watching her ever since they'd  
returned. She contemplated the two officers. The brash and young  
Shimazaki always had a sneer for her whenever he caught her glancing  
at him. Katarin was far more reserved, but no less arrogant. She  
noticed there were very few women working within the Major Crime   
division, and considering the standard of the company, she could  
understand why.  
  
They were enjoying her frustration, the fact that she couldn't  
get anything done. She'd hated this attitude she'd received ever   
since she'd joined the police. Women were only meant for the light  
duties... Traffic management, dispatch and clerical work. In   
short, not REAL police work. That was why she hated Shimazaki so  
much. He knew he'd only have to cruise these next few years and he  
would be promoted. Aoi was not going to be given any such leniency.  
  
  
Whatever the case, none of this introspection was helping her   
in placing a name to the face in the photograph. Even by limiting   
the search to girls with blond hair, she had failed to get the   
numbers down under a thousand. There were obviously a great many   
blond Japanese people out there that she hadn't seen before. Her  
earlier thoughts about the Sailorsenshi existing in a kind of self-  
delusional fantasy world seemed, more and more, to apply to her.  
  
And then something came to her. The piece of paper on which  
she'd scrawled the names, from the messages on the answering machine  
in Makoto's apartment! She reached into her pocket, fidgeting about  
between her cigarettes and lighter, loose change and her set of   
keys. She thought she'd managed to grab it the first time, only to  
pull out an old chewing gum wrapper. She really had to clean out   
the pockets of her coat, one day.  
  
Eventually, her hand hit home and she pulled out the small  
slip of paper. Usagi, Kensuke, Rei, Ami, Mina, Haruka, Michiru.   
Well, she had scribbled them down as best she could. It wasn't  
always easy to define exactly what characters are used in Japanese  
names from simple audio transcript. But she was pretty damn sure  
how the names were supposed to look in their full kanji form.  
  
Usagi... Rabbit. Something was bugging her about that name.  
She'd remarked upon it as she was writing it down. Usagi was hardly  
a common name to give to a daughter.... She was certain that there  
couldn't have been more than one or two students within the entirety  
of Tokyo with the name Usagi. She'd certinly never met anyone   
bearing such a name before.  
  
Then it dawned on her.... Of course, the old Japanese legend  
about the rabbit grinding the mill on the moon.... Tsuki no Usagi!  
What better name to give Sailormoon? She shook her head. It should  
have been so obvious. She sat down in the seat before the computer  
terminal and typed in the name Usagi as part of the search   
definitions. The computer chewed away at her request for several  
moments as she impatiently tapped her right heel against the castors  
of the chair.  
  
Eventually the computer spat out a list of fifteen girls with  
the name Usagi. And there it was, in plain writing, the kanji for  
Tsukino Usagi. Aoi had to contain herself as she clicked the icon  
of that name.  
  
The picture that appeared on the screen was of a girl several  
years younger than the one that was in the photograph, but it was,   
by all means, the same person. She flexed her fingers for a moment  
and grabbed a pen, quickly scribbling down all the details she could  
get on the girl. Eventually, she sat back and stared at the screen.  
  
  
She fingered her collar. Everything was starting to fall into  
place for her. Now she had the identities of two of the   
Sailorsenshi confirmed. She thought for a few moments, considering  
whether it would be worth her while to check up on this Tsukino   
Usagi before investigating any further. Then she thought about the  
scare she had whilst rummaging through the apartment of the Kino   
girl.... It might be a bit dangerous, especially if Pluto was on   
the warpath...  
  
  
She shook her head. There was no time for indecision in this  
matter. It was likely that one or more of the Sailorsenshi were  
involved in the murder of their comrade. In almost all cases,   
crimes such as murder were committed by someone who were either   
close to, known by or related to, the victim. If it was one of the  
Sailorsenshi, then she would have to move pretty quickly.  
  
She started to close the search program, then glanced back   
into the office space. What would happen if someone like Shimazaki  
were to pry into her information search using the access records?  
He'd be on her tail in seconds. And Shimazaki was exactly the kind  
of person to do it, too. She didn't want him anywhere near her when  
she confronted the Sailorsenshi. This was HER case, her baby.  
  
It didn't take her very long to erase the records of entry.  
She stood, stretching her neck, which had become sore with all the  
sitting down, and noncalantly walked away, past both Shimazaki and  
Katarin, who watched her as she pressed the button of the office   
lift. After a few moments, the doors opened and she entered,   
smiling at them as she turned around and pressed the button for the  
ground floor.  
  
When the doors closed on her face, Katarin motioned to   
Shimazaki, who smiled, nodding. The pair of them grabbed their   
jackets and made for the stairs.  
  
----o  
  
Joachim Schneider quietly strode down the corridors of the  
Sacred House building, their darkened gothic interiors slowly   
working their soporific magic on his mind. It was only within the  
walls of the Sacred House itself that he felt completely safe and  
secure. For a man of his age, security was everything. But then,  
it probably always had been.  
  
He disliked conflict of any kind, but conflict had always  
pursued him, from the days when he had been posted to Japan by the  
Nazi Regime as a member of the diplomatic attache's clerical staff,   
underseeing that Japan kept to the Anti-Comintern Pact, and thus   
being forced to endure the war years within Japan itself, through to   
the support of the American forces during the Korean War. By that   
stage, he had long shed any connections to his homeland. His family   
had been killed in the air raids.  
  
It was whilst he was acting as a political go-between, for the  
members of the Diet and the American forces based in Japan, that he  
first encountered the mysterious organisation known as The Sacred  
House. The group had, apparently, strong links to members of the  
Diet and the Public Service. What they actually were, he had no  
idea, but with the doctrine, of freedom of religion, that had been  
set up as part of Japan's constitution after the war, it was not  
unusual to find various religious cults popping up to fill what was  
seen as something of a cultural necessity, in a society that had   
been reduced to an apocalyptic shambles.  
  
He had become fascinated with this particular group, for some   
reason or another. What would later be described by his mentor,   
Tani Hiroyuki, as an attraction to his own kind. After learning of  
its existence, he researched its powerbase and its practices, and  
was eventually caught in its web....  
  
....For the very reason that he'd heard of its existence was   
because the Elders of the Sacred House wanted him to. Because they  
knew what he was, and what he was capable of. It was far better for  
them to have someone like Joachim Schneider on their side than on  
the side of the cursed Coven of Atrocity.  
  
Joachim was the first foreigner to join the Sacred House. It  
had founded as a special protectorate for those who had blood ties  
to the Others within the rigid social structure of very early   
Japanese history, and might have even evolved from groups in China  
before that. Nurtured in Japan's hothouse environment, the Sacred  
House had been able to flourish where similar groups elsewhere in  
the world had been subject to persecution.  
  
He had learnt that in his early days with the House. He had  
been posted under the guiding wing of Tani Hiroyuki, a member of  
one of the House's most honoured family bloodlines. Hiroyuki had  
been well over two hundred years old at that stage, and didn't look  
a day over thirty. Joachim knew, instinctively, the moment he was  
introduced to Hiroyuki, what the man was. He also discovered, at  
that moment, that the only reason Hiroyuki wasn't trying to tear  
his throat out was that his condition had long been rendered   
controlable by the usage of a medication that was known as Vasculin.  
  
Joachim didn't know what Vasculin was... what it contained and  
such. All he did know was that it had an amazing effect upon those  
such as the Tani clan. And upon other branches of their kind.   
There were various forms of Vasculin, packaged in brightly coloured  
boxes for easy identification. Hiroyuki would take Vasculin Blue.  
All Tani clan members used Vasculin Blue. He knew of those groups  
for which the varieties of Vasculin were produced. But the only   
individual he knew personally who was taking the medication, other  
than a member of the Tani and related clans, was Sherrie.  
  
  
She was a difficult case. Her need for Vasculin Orange was  
imperitive.... She was quick to recover from its effects, and her  
natural state was frighteningly bestial. Although it wasn't   
impossible to get her to intellectualise on her actions once the  
full transformation from human to demon had occured, the road there  
would be paved with the blood of many. And that was a risk the   
House was unwilling to take.  
  
So was the risk of killing her. Very few, even Sherrie   
herself, realised just what she was fully capable of doing. The  
energy of her sonic powers were merely the tip of the iceberg.  
Whatever the case, the Irish legends of the Bean Sidhe had proven  
to be sadly correct.  
  
  
"You seen troubled." He heard Carey's soft voice from the  
shadows of the columns. He paused in his stroll and looked aside  
at her. Even within the darkness, he could see her eyes. As bright  
as they were, lined with dark lashes, they looked liked twin lasers  
homing in on their target.  
  
"I am merely thinking things over."  
  
"About the blood lineage of the Sailorsenshi?"  
  
"Actually, the thought of what they may become has concerned  
me about more pressing matters, closer to home."  
  
"Ah yes. We are concerned about Sherrie, are we not?"  
  
He nodded, rubbing his eyes, tiredly. Slowly, Carey stepped  
forward from the shadows as he replaced his hand within the large  
black cloak he would wear to increase his already impressive   
physical presence.  
  
Carey paused in front of him and opened her mouth, as if she  
were going to speak. She stopped and looked aside, trying to gather   
her thoughts, then looked back up at Joachim.  
  
"We have certified that all the tablets have been... consumed.  
At least, the packaging has been returned, empty."  
  
"In the case of Sherrie, there is no guarantee. She is an  
impetuous child. She has been ever since I brought her here.   
Surely, you remember the old days? The days where she had to be   
locked away for both her safety and that of others."  
  
"I remember them. It took close to six months to finally  
crack her. To bring her round to our ways."  
  
"Yes, but did we? Did we really succeed?"  
  
"If what you are saying is true, then she is withdrawing from  
her medication, by her own choice. And if that is so, she may   
revert to a wild state." She paused. "More than may, It'd be a  
certainty."  
  
Joachim nodded. "I saw her earlier today. She seemed fine,  
then. And yet, I had this nagging sensation... that things weren't  
quite right with her." He sighed. "I've had a report, sent in from  
Rumiko, that Sherrie's behaviour has become erratic within the last  
hour or so. More erratic than is normal."  
  
"Should we withdraw team two, then? Team three is more than  
ready to replace them."  
  
"No, not just yet... They are in pursuit of Lacey. I want to  
see what the Coven are up to, and they're the closest to finding   
out. If they lose Lacey's trail, then we have missed an   
opportunity."  
  
----o  
  
The car sat on the roadside verge that ran along the edge of  
the canal. The grass slopes that ran towards the sides of the   
running waterchannel were now little more than muddied waterslides.  
  
The starkly industrial surroundings of the channel did not  
impress Rumiko or Sherrie one little bit. Keiko, for her part,   
couldn't have cared less, not that anyone was asking her opinion.  
  
"Great. The trail ends here." Rumiko stood, leaning against  
the open driver's door, looking back at Sherrie, who was trying to  
sniff the air.  
  
"I know he's around here, somewhere. I can smell him."  
  
"Look, all we have to do is follow his trail, wherever it  
leads us, okay? We don't need to hunt him down."  
  
Sherrie bit her lip. "Pity. He smells particularly   
delicious, today." She looked back from the rear of the car at the  
bridge that crossed the canal, running into the factory yards on the   
other side. Sherrie took a breath. "He's in there. In the  
factory."  
  
"Well, that's just great. he can stay there for as long as he  
likes." Rumiko sat back in the front seat of the car, tapping her  
fingers against the steering wheel.  
  
The stale smell of cigarettes permeated the interior of the   
car. None of them were smokers, but whoever had used the car before  
them certainly was, and had forgotten to clean out the ashtray. The  
smell eventually wore on Rumiko's sensitive nose, and she pulled out  
the ashtray, flicking its contents over the grass verge. Keiko   
watched the tiny fragments float to the ground.  
  
"Pretty colours..." She said, simply, her vacant stare locked  
on the particles. Rumiko looked over at her as she replaced the  
ashtray, sighing.  
  
"Yes, Keiko. Pretty colours." Rumiko replied, tiredly. For  
a few moments, she thought Keiko was looking at her with   
disappointment. The girl eventually found something more   
interesting to look at in the sky... Yet more passing clouds for  
her to fascinate over.  
  
Rumiko was about to close the door when she noticed that   
Sherrie was no longer standing in the back doorway of the car. She  
leaned out and looked back. Sherrie was wandering, slowly, across  
the bridge to the factory grounds.  
  
"What the hell is she doing?" Rumiko stood from the car.   
"Sherrie! Where are you going? Sherrie!" She shouted. Her calls  
had no effect on the redhead, who took off into the factory grounds.  
"Shimatta!" Rumiko hit the roof of the car with her fist.  
  
She heard the passenger-side door open, and turned to see   
Keiko getting out. The girl stared at the bridge, blankly.  
  
"Keiko..." Rumiko said, softly. "What are you..."  
  
"No... Sherrie shall be danger. Sherrie is my friend."  
  
Keiko began forward. Rumiko quickly caught up with her and  
took her by the arm.  
  
"What are you doing?" Rumiko spun her round. Keiko looked  
up at her, then aside, trying to avoid her gaze.  
  
"Must help Sherrie-san. My friend."  
  
"You'll only end up getting hurt, too."  
  
"Sherrie will get hurt. Want to help her." Keiko began   
pulling away from Rumiko. "Must help her."  
  
"Alright! ALRIGHT! Just stay by me, okay?"  
  
Keiko went quiet, then nodded, slowly. Rumiko sighed and  
went back to the car, locking it as Keiko stared into space, waiting  
for her.  
  
In Keiko's mind, she could see Sherrie dying. And what was  
worse, she could see Sherrie reborn... as a monster.  
  
----o  
  
Aoi sniffed as she stepped into the front office of the Police  
Department building... A large office space with a large, spotless  
front desk.  
  
There was something in the air, she could smell it. Something  
that fairly shouted "trouble". She noticed it as soon as she exited   
the the corridor. Several of the dispatch officers had turned to  
look at her, and she stopped.  
  
"Wh.. What?" She stared back at them.  
  
"Uhh... Kiko-san, can I have a few words with you?" Watanabe  
Miki, a woman Aoi's age who had joined the force within the same   
class, took Aoi by the arm and pulled her aside.  
  
"What is it?" Aoi looked at her, bewildered.  
  
"Can you go to interview room 3. We have someone there who  
wishes to speak with a member of the SIU." Miki looked at her   
earnestly. "She said it was very important."  
  
"She?" Aoi blinked.  
  
Miki looked aside. "Our superior said it was best if you   
spoke to her, since you're the expert on what the Sailorsenshi look  
like."  
  
Aoi was speechless. "Is she...?"  
  
"She confessed to being one of the Sailorsenshi. That's all  
she has told us...."  
  
Aoi looked across the office space, to the corridor that   
lead to the interview rooms, as all the dispatch and front desk   
officers stared at her.  
  
"Would you like me to come with you?" Miki asked, softly.   
Aoi nodded, saying nothing. Slowly, Aoi and Miki stepped around  
desks and filing cabinets, entering the corridor.  
  
The cold grey of the corridor matched the sickening sense of  
anticipation Aoi felt as she approached the door marked with the  
number 3.  
  
"Is she with anyone?" Aoi asked, softly.  
  
"No, she's on her own. She asked to be alone."  
  
Aoi took a breath and opened the door.  
  
  
The girl looked up at her, blinking, trying to compose   
herself. It was obvious to Aoi that she had been crying.   
  
  
Aoi slowly entered the room, followed by Miki, who closed the   
door behind them.  
  
"So, we meet at last, Sailormercury." Aoi said simply as the  
blue-haired girl's eyes flashed in surprise, as did Miki's.  
  
"You mean she really is..." Miki's voice croaked.  
  
Ami's head dropped, leaning against the single table in the   
middle of the soundproofed room. With the door closed, the walls of  
the room were made to feel like the limit of all existence.  
  
"Yes, it's true. I am Sailormercury." Ami almost choked on   
her words with a sob. Aoi sat opposite the girl.  
  
"And your real name is..."  
  
"Ami... Mizuno Ami." She lifted her head. "I'm sure you   
know that, already. You're a member of the SIU, aren't you?"  
  
Aoi nodded. "It was fortunate for you that I was in the   
building at the time. My name is Aoi. Kikotsuka Aoi."  
  
Ami managed to compose herself enough to bow slightly. Well,  
thought Aoi, she was certainly brought up well, if nothing else.  
  
She recognised her from the moment she saw her. For whatever  
reason she was able to see through the magic that surrounded the  
identities of the Sailorsenshi, the breakthrough with the first now  
seemed to have opened the floodgates for her. This time, she didn't  
even have to look twice.  
  
Miki sat next to Aoi as she continued. "Now, Ami... You   
didn't come here for idle chat, I'm sure."  
  
Ami nodded. "I... I wanted to say..." She choked on her   
words again. Aoi waited patiently as Ami regained her composure.   
"I'm.... I am the one who is responsible for the death of.... my   
friend" She choked again. "It's my fault. I confess, I'm the one   
who had her killed."  
  
Aoi and Miki stared at each other.  
  
"Since..." Aoi tried to pick her words carefully. "Since we  
haven't made it public that it was a Sailorsenshi who was murdered,  
Ami, then...." She shook her head. "We'll need a full statement  
and confession from you. This really isn't under the jurisdiction  
of the SIU."  
  
"I don't care. I did it. That's all that matters, doesn't   
it?" She stared at them, tears flowing from her eyes. Aoi sighed,  
turning to Miki, who nodded. She turned back to Ami.  
  
  
"Mizuno Ami, I am arresting you on suspicion of involvement in   
the murder of Kino Makoto, also known as Sailorjupiter...."  
  
  
END OF PART 9  
  
Notes  
  
Gwaahhhh! Notes in a chapter of SIU ^_^  
  
Anyway, as some may have worked out, SIU is something of a crossover  
fic between the worlds of SM (Sailormoon) and the worlds of SM   
(Silent Mobius). Just thought you'd all like to know. Anyone who  
has any idea about the background of Silent Mobius will know the   
events that lead to the opening of that story are about to occur   
(not long now, people ^_^).  
  
PS, the Sailorsenshi in this story are all around 19 years of age,   
so they are out of High School (except for Hotaru). The SIU's   
expectation that the body of the senshi was that of a 17 year old  
girl is based on the misbelief that most Magic Girls, when they  
appear, are pre-adolescent.  
  
Most are, if you've seen enough of those shows.  
  
Well, it's as good an excuse as I can think of. ^_^;;  
  
DDFA ayanami@internode.on.net  
19th Mar 1998 


	10. SIU part 10: Tidal Friction

S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page)  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Bandai and Kodansya. All  
other characters were thought up by me. Well, its true, isn't it?  
^_^  
  
  
Naoko raised her head when she felt the first waves of change.  
Jacquie noticed her friend's sudden expression, standing over the  
tray of items within the knick-knack shop. Naoko still held onto  
the small doll about which she had remarked, only seconds before,   
was so kawaii....  
  
"Naoko-chan?" Jacquie placed a hand on the 16 year old's   
shoulder. "Naoko-chan? What do you feel?"  
  
"Change." She replied. "There is change in the air. Someone  
is becoming like I. They are changing, and it is without control."  
  
Jacquie stared at Naoko, not sure of what to make of her   
statement. As Tani Naoko's guardian of some three years, since   
they first met in the Sacred House's education system, Jacqueline  
Madendjirra had become used to the sudden, strange changes of  
expression and tone the girl would put on.... Naturally, as Naoko  
was at the mercy of some very strange senses, she could pick up and  
detect things that Jacquie wouldn't be able to see or feel until   
they were nearly upon her. Something of an embarassment for someone  
who fancied themselves as a Kaditcha.  
  
"I must find them." Naoko placed the doll back in the tray.  
  
"Wait..." Jacquie took hold of her arm, pulling Naoko around   
to face her. "Shouldn't we contact the House, first? After all, we  
are only out on a social expedition. It isn't our place to deal   
with this kind of thing."  
  
"Oh yes..." Naoko half-smiled at Jacquie. "I forgot, I'm   
only outside the walls of the House so I can learn how to relate to  
others." Her cynicism dripped from every word. "Give me a break,  
Jacquie. What else am I... are we... being trained for? For what  
other possible reason have I been locked away since birth?"  
  
"I still think it would be better to contact the House. You  
can lead me to this person, and we'll let them handle it."  
  
Naoko looked at her for a few moments, then nodded.  
  
She lead Jacquie from the shop, into the driving rain beyond.  
  
----o  
  
Part Ten  
Tidal Friction  
  
----o  
  
"I'm telling you, it was her." Fitchner paced Dietman   
Manakuto's office impatiently. "The damned child had the gall to  
call me at that very moment.... I could just throttle her."  
  
"It would appear, to me at least, that her call saved your   
life." Manakuto, lounging in his plush office chair, behind his  
desk, drummed the fingers of both hands against each other.  
  
Fitchner sighed, turning to the middle-aged parliamentarian.   
"You can't understand how it feels.... To have all hope removed   
like that... Since the death of my wife, she had been everything.   
And then disappearing the way she did.... Where the hell has she   
been, these five years? And why the hell now? Surely, she couldn't   
have known I was going to...."  
  
"I'd chalk it up to blind luck, Martin. I'm quite sure she  
has no great psychic link to you, or anything." Manakuto sat   
forward, leaning his elbows on the desk. "She wasn't likely to be  
keeping tabs on everything you do. She didn't do it, deliberately."  
  
"Then how did she know where I was?" Fitchner started pacing  
again.  
  
"There aren't that many people in Tokyo with the name   
Fitchner. All she had to do was look you up in a telephone book."  
Manakuto sighed. "I have supported you in your search for your   
daughter as best as I could. But I am only the junior minister for  
police services. My influence is limited because of the factional  
brawling that is going on within the Diet. I don't need the kind of  
paranoid talk, of secret societies and religions watching over us,  
that you have dragged up."  
  
Fitchner stopped in the middle of the room and looked down at  
the floor. "Araki, do you know how many new religions and sects are  
formed in Japan every month? An uncountable number. Uncountable  
because many of them blow through before anyone notices their   
existence, to be replaced by a new one."  
  
"Yes, I realise that. It's a tax dodge that many people use  
to beat the system."  
  
"And often, people in positions of power and influence are   
part of those religions and sects."  
  
Manakuto sighed. "Look, I know where this is leading, Martin.  
We've been through this story before. Of COURSE I know people of  
power, wealth and influence are a part of these groups. It's only  
natural. Dietman Kokuran is a member of such a group...."  
  
"...Yes, I know, I know." Fitchner rubbed his face, tiredly.  
"But I now know that Michelle is alright. And if that is so, then  
she has to have been living, somewhere, within this city or   
elsewhere in Japan. And it can't be that easy to hide someone who  
has golden-blond hair in this country."  
  
"Oh, I don't know about that. Seen some of the kids these  
days?" Manakuto chuckled. Fitchner wasn't in the mood for light  
humour.  
  
"As I was saying.... It couldn't have been easy to hide  
an attractive, blond-haired westerner in this country, especially  
one whose face had been sprayed across the news at the time of her  
disappearance. If she is alright, then someone has gone out of  
their way to hide her, and that means someone with the wealth,   
influence and power to do so."  
  
Manakuto nodded. "Granted, if that is so, then I must agree,  
it is possible that whomever she has become involved with are highly  
influential. Influential to hide a foreign national from the   
authorities for reasons unknown. But I must now point out to you,  
Martin, that she has contacted you of her own free will. It is   
likely that she has no desire to see you."  
  
"More likely she is under the influence of whomever it is that  
has snatched her away from me." Fitchner began pacing yet again,   
more agitatedly. "Ah, this is too much. What am I going to do? My   
reason for being in Japan these past few years has been finding her.   
I lost my regular job when I lost her...."  
  
"You still have your private investigation agency." Manakuto  
pushed his chair back and stood, slowly walking around the desk.   
"It is not as if you don't have any work to return to."  
  
"I set that agency up with the point of finding Michelle. All  
other work I'd received had been secondary to that goal."   
Fitchner's eyes began to well with tears. "What am I going to do?"  
  
Manakuto stepped up to Fitchner and placed a hand on his   
shoulder. "Martin.... I know you are emotional about this, now,   
but a call from her is a good sign that she is thinking of you. It  
is possible that she intends, at some future time, to return to you.  
The call might have been endemic of some disaffection with the group  
she has found herself with."  
  
"If you heard the way she spoke to me, you wouldn't say that.  
I almost felt as if I were being mocked." Fitchner closed his eyes  
and composed himself. "I'm sorry, Araki. I shouldn't have put on  
such a display of emotion."  
  
"No, no... It is quite understandable. I know if anything  
were to happen to my children, I would feel the same as you."  
  
"You've been of such support to me all these years. I don't  
know how I can repay you." Fitchner stood back as Manakuto smiled,  
putting his hand back to his side.  
  
"Political expediency, Martin. As the junior Police Minister,  
it is good to be seen to be doing something about what appears to be  
a criminal act, in the public eye." Fitchner chuckled and Manakuto  
smiled, putting out his hands, expansively. "See, even at moments  
like this, we can still laugh over our failings."  
  
There was a soft chime, and the two men turned to the speaker  
in the top corner of the room.  
  
"Ah, it looks like the session of parliament is about to   
begin. I'm afraid I shall have to attend." Fitchner turned back to  
Manakuto and nodded. The two men shook hands, then Manakuto guided  
Fitchner towards his office door. "Pray I shall see you at some   
future date?"  
  
"Indeed." Fitchner smiled. "If I hear anything, I shall tell  
you." Manakuto nodded and opened the door, waving Fitchner through.  
After a short exchange of goodbyes, Manakuto closed the door behind  
Fitchner and stood back, rubbing his chin. He turned and stepped  
over to his desk, picking up the receiver of his phone.  
  
He pressed a button and waited for several moments as he   
listened to the ringing tone. A voice on the other end answered.  
  
"Ah yes, this is Manakuto. Can you get me in touch with   
Akizuki? I have some news I'm sure he'd be over the moon to   
hear..."  
  
----o  
  
Usagi and Hotaru sat within the coffee shop above the game  
centre. For Usagi, it was a weird feeling.... To be sitting   
somewhere that had once been a safe haven from all of her problems  
with the kind of fear experienced only at the height of her past  
battles with her many enemies.  
  
As experinced as she was with those feelings, she still felt  
nervous when the young waitress came up to ask her what she wanted  
to order. Usagi even had to kick Hotaru in the leg to stop the  
younger girl from going ballistic.  
  
It was a bad feeling, knowing there were people, somewhere,  
looking out for you. BAD people, at that. Making their way to  
the game centre was horrible. Literally anyone could have been  
following them... or had recognised them. It ramped up Usagi's  
natural paranoia to something close to breaking point.  
  
  
They had been in contact with Setsuna through Minako's   
communicator. Apparently, the younger girl was a bit out of it at  
the time. Setsuna asked Usagi to pick a meeting spot that was   
relatively well-known to everyone. And so, they made arrangements  
to meet at the coffee shop.  
  
That, of course, had been something close to half an hour ago.  
There was still no sign of Setsuna, Minako or anyone else, and both  
Usagi and Hotaru were beginning to get toey.  
  
"Where are they... They should have been here, by now."   
Hotaru grumbled, staring into the ice-cream soda paid for by Usagi,  
since she was the only one with money. Usagi looked at her   
dubiously. The very least the girl could do was drink the thing.  
  
"They'll be here, alright?" Usagi drummed her fingers on the  
table. "If Setsuna says she shall meet us somewhere, then she shall  
meet us, guarenteed."  
  
"You place altogether too much faith in her, you know that?"  
  
"You're all my senshi. I have to trust you all."  
  
Hotaru took the spoon in her soda and began to stir the drink.  
"I don't really trust anyone. Not after what happened with my   
father." She looked up at Usagi. "Except Chibiusa. I trust her.  
But then, she is as clear as glass. She never hides her feelings."  
  
"And I do?"  
  
"You have learnt, with age, to do so." Hotaru looked back   
down at her drink. "The few occasions where she has returned to us  
from the future, the changes in her are so very small. Even though  
she is now my age in our last encounter.... That is the difference  
between you two."  
  
"I have had to learn responsibility. The creation of Crystal  
Tokyo is in my hands. If that means hiding aspects of what I feel  
and think, then so be it."  
  
Hotaru sighed. "It has lessened you in my eyes. I liked the  
carefree individual you once were. It's what I like about   
Chibiusa...." Hotaru looked aside and went silent as a figure   
approached. Usagi turned as the waitress wandered past, carrying a  
tray with empty cups back to the counter.  
  
Usagi leaned forward, virtually whispering to Hotaru. "Would  
you prefer it if I were to be the carefree individual right now? To  
laugh off the threat that currently faces us and to go about   
business as usual?"  
  
Hotaru looked suitably chastened.  
  
"Yes, I thought as much." Usagi sat back. "I know how you   
feel about things, Hotaru. I am in touch with the thoughts and   
feelings of all my senshi. You want to protect me and rebuild the  
Kingdom.... To resurrect the old ways and the old customs. Well,  
nobody said that was going to be easy."  
  
"There are so many enemies out there." Hotaru glowered,   
looking from side to side. "We've dealt with some of them, behind  
your back."  
  
"What?" Usagi raised her eyebrows in surprise.  
  
"Indeed. Did you know there was a group that belonged to the  
Black Moon family who had settled within the Middle East? They were  
manipulating Muslim extremists to follow their cause.... We'd had  
to head that off at the pass before things got out of hand."  
  
"When was this?"  
  
"About a year or so ago." Hotaru paused. "It cost the lives   
of at least fifty people."  
  
"F.. fifty?" Usagi brought her hands down on the table,   
making Hotaru wince and catching the attention of everyone within   
the shop. Usagi smiled nervously at people, waving her hand in   
apology. When everyone had turned back to their own conversations  
and business, Usagi leaned forward, fixing Hotaru with a stare.   
"And just what makes you think you can wipe out fifty people behind  
my back? What makes you think you can just run around, killing   
people like that?"  
  
"Welcome to the real world. Didn't you hear what you were   
told, about there being groups in this world that won't accept our  
ways?"  
  
"That's not an excuse..." Usagi looked around to see if   
anyone heard her. She continued in a softer tone. "That's not an  
excuse for killing people.... Fifty people! My Kami, Hotaru, just  
what in hell did you think you were doing?"  
  
"They were determined to die. Determined to die for their   
cause, because they believed they were right and we were wrong.   
Everyone in this world feels that their point of view is the RIGHT   
one. But there is no right point of view, not even ours. When  
Crystal Tokyo is created, we shall slowly begin to take over, and  
eventually dominate, all cultures, faiths and ideologies. In short,  
we shall become responsible for the most insidious form of cultural  
genocide."  
  
Usagi shook her head. "Now you're just prattling about   
possibilities. Everyone shall have a choice in the matter..."  
  
"Will they? In the end, it will come down forced coersion,  
you mark my words."  
  
"Oh, drink your soda and shutup." Usagi crossed her arms and  
looked away as Hotaru sulked. She hated these kinds of   
conversations. She wasn't the world's greatest intellectual... She  
thought more with her heart than her head, but she was, at the very  
least, versed in the complexities that faced them, even if she did  
act as if she existed in her own fantasy world. That was the   
problem with her senshi.... They often treated her like a   
stereotypical blond bimbo, without realising just how much tended to  
run through her mind.  
  
"Can I join this argument?" Said the voice from the green-  
haired woman who seemed to appear out of nowhere, giving the pair of  
them a start.  
  
"Setsuna!" Usagi put a hand to her chest. "Don't you dare do  
that again."  
  
"Do what?"  
  
"Sneak up on us like that?" Hotaru finished the question,   
desperately trying to scoop up as much ice cream from the sides of   
her glass as was possible, tipped there in her reaction to Setsuna's  
arrival.  
  
"Well, it wasn't very hard to do, considering the racket you   
two were making. I've been watching you for the last five minutes,  
trying to contain my embarassment. I thought I told you both to   
keep a low profile...."  
  
"Wrong. I told us to keep a low profile." Usagi sniffed.  
  
"Whatever. You were doing your best to attract the attention  
of just about everyone in here with your comedy double-act."   
Setsuna shrugged and waved through Minako, who had been standing   
beside her, in a daze. Minako sat beside Usagi, her eyes watering  
for no visibly apparent reason. Usagi and Hotaru looked at her.  
  
"She's really out if it, isn't she?" Usagi pointed at Minako.  
Setsuna nodded.  
  
"I have my misgivings about the state of her mind and body. I  
can detect very strange energy waves emanating from her." Setsuna  
sat beside Hotaru. "She has been eyeing people in an unusual   
manner. She seems.... hungry, for want of a better term."  
  
"Ehh?" Usagi looked at Minako. "What do you mean by that?"  
  
"I don't know if I can explain it any better than that. She  
tried to seduce me once or twice on our way here."  
  
Usagi's face twisted. "Seduce..." She shook her head. "I  
know she's been acting strange just lately, but...." Usagi shook  
her head. "Whatever, at least we've found one of the lost sheep."  
  
"I tried to pick up Mars and Mercury on the way, but they were  
not at home when I called." Setsuna frowned. "So I travelled to  
their respective educational institutions.... They weren't there,  
either. It is most unlike them not to be attending, especially  
Mercury. I wonder where she has found herself...."  
  
----o  
  
"What is going to happen to me, now?" Ami said as Aoi guided  
her from the interview room.  
  
"Well, you'll have to be held for further questioning, and   
we'll have to contact any close relatives you may have. You do have  
relatives, don't you?"  
  
"Of course I do. My... uhh... my mother. She's a doctor.   
She's at the hospital, where she works, now."  
  
"Ah, I see. What is her contact number...." Aoi paused,   
causing Miki, who had followed them from the interview room, to run  
into her.  
  
"Hoi, what's up?" Miki asked her, rubbing her nose.  
  
"Them." Aoi pointed along the passageway to the main office.  
On the other side of the office stood Katarin and Shimazaki, who   
were talking with one of the office staff.  
  
"What about them?" Miki stepped up alongside Ami, who peered  
from one to the other. "That's just Kat-san and Shimazaki... Isn't  
it good that they're here? The Major Crime boys would be happy to  
see her."  
  
"No, it's not good." She turned to Miki. "I've changed my   
mind. Is there another way out of here?"  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"I'm taking over responsibility for Mizuno, here. I've got to  
thinking that this actually falls within the jurisdiction of the   
SIU, after all."  
  
"WHAT?" Miki stared at Aoi as if she were mad. "But she has  
just confessed to the murder of..."  
  
"...Yes, a Sailorsenshi has just confessed to the murder of   
another Sailorsenshi. Isn't that the kind of affair the SIU was set   
up for?" Aoi smiled at Miki. "After all, her confession wasn't   
recorded, or anything."  
  
"What are you saying?" Ami looked at Aoi worriedly. "I.. I   
came in here to give myself up..."  
  
"Shh!" Aoi shook her head, putting a finger to Ami's lip.  
  
  
Miki paused to think, for a few moments. "You'll be neck deep  
in it if the higher-ups find out about this."  
  
"She came in to aid us with our enquiries, Miki-san." Aoi   
took Ami by the arm. "The SIU's enquiries into the identities of   
the Sailorsenshi."  
  
"Ehh?" Ami stared at Aoi in disbelief.  
  
"You just don't want the likes of those two getting their   
hands on your little prize, here...." Miki wagged a finger in Aoi's  
face. "Not that I can't understand how you feel. Katarin is kinda  
okay, but Shimazaki is a righteous bastard...."  
  
"Ano..." Ami butted in. "I don't mean to be rude...."  
  
"Shh!" Aoi pulled on her arm, then nodded at Miki. "You can  
see my point. I shall take responsibility for her."  
  
Miki closed her eyes and took a breath. "You owe me one,   
Kiko-san. I'll probably be given the run of the department for   
this."  
  
"Don't worry. It's entirely my idea."  
  
"This way." Miki pointed back down the corridor and started  
to move away. Aoi was about to follow, dragging Ami, but the senshi  
held back. Aoi stopped and looked at her.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"I... I didn't come here for this..."  
  
"Don't worry. I'm not going to let you get away from me."  
  
"Aren't you afraid.. that I'll change into a Sailorsenshi and  
try to make an escape, or something like that?"  
  
"Why would you? You came here of your own volition. I hardly  
think you're going to suddenly change your mind...."  
  
Ami shook her head. "No. I suppose I wouldn't."  
  
"And besides. I don't believe you killed your friend." Ami  
raised her eyebrows in surprise at Aoi's statement.  
  
"But I did.... How could you say...?"  
  
"Don't ask me why. I just have this feeling." Aoi smiled.   
"I get the feeling you're covering up for someone."  
  
"You're wrong."  
  
"We'll see. Come on." Aoi lead Ami away.  
  
----o  
  
"In there." Naoko pointed up at the coffee shop from the   
street below. "I can feel her presence."  
  
"Alright." Jacquie held her back from the entrance. "We  
should hand this over to the others now, don't you think?"  
  
"It's too late. If we don't do something, she'll break."  
  
Jacquie looked at Naoko, whose face was near panic. "I  
can feel her, slowly losing it, becoming exponentially worse...  
She'll kill everyone within that place if we don't do something."  
  
"A team is going to be here at any moment, Naoko..."  
  
"It's too late!" Naoko broke away from Jacquie and raced for  
the entrance. Jacquie followed her in pursuit.  
  
----o  
  
"So, what is our plan of action now?" Usagi sighed, leaning  
forward on her elbows.  
  
"I haven't been able to get in contact with Uranus or Neptune  
as yet. We'll formulate some plan once I do." Setsuna sighed.  
  
"Do you think you'll have any more luck finding them than you  
did with the others?" Hotaru leaned back against the wall,   
sneering. "Face it, anything could have happened to them...."  
  
"GET AWAY!" Usagi, Setsuna and Hotaru turned, along with  
everyone else in the coffee shop, to the young girl with short, dark  
hair, dressed in an equally dark kimono, as she ran through the   
entrance, followed by a dark-skinned young woman, dressed in an   
overcoat, windcheater and jeans.  
  
"Naoko!" Jacquie tried to grab the girl's shoulder as she  
scanned the coffee shop. Her eyes fixed on Minako, and she made  
forward.  
  
"GET AWAY FROM HER! SHE'S DANGEROUS!" Naoko made for the far   
end of the shop, where they were sitting, as the trio stared at her  
in surprise.  
  
  
Suddenly Minako made a growling noise in her throat, and she  
gripped the table.   
  
She wrenched it clean from its mountings with inhuman   
strength, dumping it on top of the unfortunate pair of outer senshi,   
who both sprawled on their seat below it to short cries of distress.  
  
"NO!" Naoko cried, and reached out to grab Minako, but was   
bowled back by other patrons of the shop, stunned and frightened by   
Minako's display.  
  
  
"Mi.. Mina-chan..." Usagi had backed up against the wall,  
staring at her friend. Minako turned to her and smiled.  
  
With frightening speed, Minako grabbed Usagi by the throat and  
lifted her from her seat. Usagi let out choked cries of distress as  
Minako dragged her forward, and opened her mouth....  
  
  
END OF PART 10  
  
DDFA ayanami@internode.on.net  
26th Mar 1998 


	11. SIU part 11: Nature of the Beast

S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page)  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Bandai and Kodansya. All  
other characters were thought up by me. Well, its true, isn't it?  
^_^  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
He was here, somewhere. She could SMELL him. Smell his   
sweat, his flesh, his blood.... It drove her on to find him, to  
catch him.... To KILL and EAT him.  
  
He had pursued her for years, like some object. She WAS the  
object of his affections. Too much affection. There had been times  
when he had tried to snatch her away from the Sacred House....   
Kidnap her. She had fought him off each and every time, and   
sometimes even tried to eat him. The thought of biting into his  
throat, tearing it out....  
  
  
She fell to her knees and stared at her surroundings. She was  
in the middle of a factory yard. Cement and warehouses and tanks...  
She could hear the sound of machinery. To her left, a building   
belched steam through short stacks. She could smell others in the  
area. They smelt delicious, too.  
  
She held her throat and retched. She couldn't let those   
instincts take over.... But even as she thought this, she knew it   
was too late, and it was all her own fault.  
  
Rain fell on her back, and she slowly sat up, resting against  
the side of the steel shed where she had found herself, eyes closed.   
The sound of shiphorns echoes across the yards, and she remembered   
the day she arrived in Tokyo, searching for her younger sister....  
  
  
"What is this? Giving up already?" She heard the voice in  
her mind. She opened her eyes. "It's not like you, Sherrie. I  
thought you were made of sterner stuff."  
  
"I haven't given up, you bastard...." She said it so softly  
that even she didn't hear it. But the thoughts that produced the  
words traveled across the large distance between herself and the  
origin of the voice. "I can smell you out, wherever you go."  
  
"I don't think so. Besides, I have people coming to my aid.  
You are but one. Three, if you include your less than useful   
partners who are searching for you even at this moment."  
  
"Heh, and if they are, they'd have called for backup as well."  
A sneer crossed her face. "You smell as good as always, Pagan."   
She licked her lips and stood, slowly....  
  
"Have we been taking our medication, like a good little girl?"  
The mocking tone in the thoughts increased. She shook her head and  
ended the conversation, peering around the corner of the shed.  
  
  
Across the vast, empty yards, she could see another series of  
factory buildings. She sniffed the air, and began the long dash   
across the yards, running at near inhuman speeds. Not surprising,  
as she was only half-human to begin with.  
  
----o  
  
Part Eleven  
Nature of the Beast  
  
----o  
  
Usagi had known Minako for a long time, now. They had shared  
many moments, many adventures, together. But there was something  
about Minako that neither she nor Usagi knew....  
  
It came to a head within the coffee shop above their favourite  
game arcade. One moment, Minako was sitting next to her, quietly,   
if not in something of a daze.... Usagi had been a bit worried   
about her physical state when Setsuna had guided her to the table,  
but apart from that, she'd shown no outward signs of what was to   
come.  
  
And then....  
  
"GET AWAY FROM HER! SHE'S DANGEROUS!" Usagi, Setsuna  
and Hotaru, who had been talking to each other about their   
precarious situation, turned as a young girl in a dark kimono, Tani  
Naoko, charged through the entrance of the coffee shop, making for  
their table.  
  
Suddenly Minako made a growling noise in her throat, and she  
gripped the table.   
  
With a bestial cry, she wrenched it clean from its mountings,   
displaying inhuman strength. The tabletop dropped on top of the   
unfortunate pair of outer senshi, who had been sitting opposite   
Minako and Usagi. They both sprawled on their seat below it to   
short and pained cries of distress.  
  
Other patrons of the coffee shop, who had gone silent through  
this display, were frightened out of their seats as Minako let out  
a screeching roar that shattered every glass object nearby,   
including the windows.  
  
"NO!" Naoko cried as she reached out to grab Minako, but was   
bowled back by the patrons of the coffee shop, who were desperately  
trying to get away from the increasinly monstrous figure.  
  
  
"Mi.. Mina-chan..." Usagi had backed up against the wall,  
staring at her friend. Minako turned to her, and Usagi let out a  
short gasp of shock. Her friend's complexion had changed to a   
ghastly pale, and her eyes.... Had gone a steel grey, the whites  
bloodshot.  
  
With frightening speed, Minako grabbed Usagi by the throat   
with a clawed hand, and lifted her from her seat. Usagi let out   
choked cries of distress as Minako dragged her forward, and opened   
her fanged mouth, ready to tear out her throat....  
  
  
Then Usagi heard silence. A silence so pure that it was   
almost painful to hear. The sudden division from the noise of the  
previous events to what she was experiencing now was so great that  
she thought she had to be dead....  
  
Then the chanting began. Soft and resonant at first, but  
increasing, with a musical quality to its tone. "Jacquie...." She  
heard Naoko say. Tentatively, she opened her eyes.  
  
Minako was still holding her up off the ground by the throat,  
but her face had lost the savage expression it had had only moments  
before. Slowly, Minako's hand weakened, and she let her go. Usagi  
fell onto the seat, then rolled to the floor, gagging and coughing  
as she gasped for air.  
  
She turned and looked back. Behind Naoko, Jacquie Madendjirra  
was standing straight, eyes closed and hands clasped together, as if  
praying. The middle and forefingers of both hands were pointing   
upwards, and her thumbs were pressed together. It was from her   
mouth the chanting had emerged. It was in a strange, almost musical  
language Usagi had never heard before. But she could feel the waves  
of power emanating from the young woman.  
  
She turned to her right as the tabletop was gently placed   
beside her. Setsuna rose from behind it, watching Jacquie   
carefully.  
  
"Wh... Who are they? What's going on?" Usagi whispered to   
her." Setsuna put up a hand and hushed her.  
  
"A pacification song...." Setsuna whispered. "One of the   
oldest magical spells in recorded history. Also one of the most  
effective." Usagi ahhed as if that was supposed to make sense.   
Deep within the recesses of her memory, she had heard of the spell  
before.... One practiced by the peoples who populated the southern  
continent.  
  
"Are they...?" Usagi pressed up against the tabletop, trying  
to get as close to Setsuna as possible so she wouldn't be overheard.  
Setsuna raised her eyebrows and looked at her.  
  
"Are they the people we have been worrying about? Yes. I'm  
very afraid they are." Usagi's heart sank at the reply as Setsuna  
looked back at Hotaru. The girl's eyes were spiralling and she was  
letting out a short moan of disorientation.  
  
"Hotaru, get up...."  
  
"Aww, another five minutes, mom."  
  
Great, thought Setsuna. That's two down, two to go.  
  
"What are we going to...." Usagi tugged on Setsuna's arm as  
Naoko stood behind Minako, holding her hands out, ready to catch the  
girl. Setsuna hushed Usagi again.  
  
"We wait our opportunity, then we make a run for it."  
  
"What do you mean? What about Mina-chan?"  
  
"It's already too late for her...."  
  
Before Usagi could ask Setsuna what she meant, Jacquie's chant  
reached a crescendo. With a flourish of her hands and arms, she   
stopped. Minako fell back into Naoko's arms. Grabbing Hotaru's   
hand Setsuna let out a bark.  
  
"NOW!" Setsuna leapt from her seat, dragging the recalcitrant  
Hotaru with her. Usagi blinked in surprise and stood, following her  
out at great speed.  
  
Jacquie had just enough time to open her eyes when Setsuna   
bowled through her. The young woman fell back against the counter   
of the coffee shop, sliding down and landing on her rear end rather  
painfully, letting out a little gasp of pain and surprise. Naoko   
also watched the trio depart.  
  
"Hey.... Wait, what are...." She looked at Jacquie   
helplessly, unable to do anything with the pacified Minako in her   
arms.  
  
As Setsuna and Hotaru flew through the doorway, Usagi stopped  
and turned, looking back at Minako. "Mi.... Mina-chan..." She   
stood, shivering, not wanting to leave her old friend behind. This  
gave Jacquie enough time to stand and turn to her....  
  
  
A few moments passed between them. It was enough time for   
Jacquie to see what lay beyond Usagi's ordinary exterior... and   
for Usagi to feel the probings. Stunned by the revelation, Jacquie   
stood and watched as Usagi turned and followed the two Outer Senshi   
through the door.  
  
  
Naoko gently lifted Minako in her arms and lay the girl on  
the seat by the broken table. She then turned and walked across to  
where Jacquie was leaning against the counter. She saw the look in  
her companion's eyes and tugged her on the sleeve.  
  
"Hoi.... What's gotten into you?"  
  
"S... Sailor...."  
  
"What? What is it?"  
  
Jacquie turned to Naoko. "That girl.... The blond one. She  
was Sailormoon...."  
  
"Eh?" Naoko's eyes opened wide. "How.... How do you know?"  
  
"My powers broke through her magical shielding.... She left  
herself open wide to mental probing...." She turned to the prone  
Minako. "That one is also a Sailorsenshi...."  
  
Naoko shook her head. "That would explain something, then."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Her age. She's too old to go through the normal process of  
becoming. Something has been holding the process back."  
  
"Sailorsenshi powers."  
  
Naoko nodded. "It appears we have one in our hands, at last."  
She smiled. "Good thing my nose is so keen, eh?" Jacquie bopped   
her one over the head.  
  
"Silly. You could have gotten yourself hurt. I'd be in a   
hell of a strife with your father if that was to happen."  
  
"Biiiiiida!" Naoko stuck her tongue out at Jacquie. "You're  
just thinking of yourself."  
  
"Ano...." The pair turned to the counter attendant, a young  
woman not much older than Jacquie, as she rose up from behind the   
cash register. "I hope you don't mind paying for the table. The   
owner of the shop will be real mad with me, otherwise...."  
  
----o  
  
Akizuki stared out of his front window at the street beyond,  
holding the cordless phone to his right ear.  
  
"I see."  
  
There were children.... What were they doing out of school?  
They were kicking through the water that ran freely along the   
gutters.  
  
"And that was all he said?"  
  
There had been a time in his life where he could do that and  
not be looked upon as being strange in the head. There were things  
people could forgive you for doing because you were a child. At his  
age, however, kicking through puddles or running water in the street  
would be contrived as a sign of encroaching senility.  
  
"So, what do you want me to do about it? Punish her for this?  
I don't think it shall do us any harm...."  
  
But there were times, since his retirement from the police   
force, when he really wanted to just do something utterly juvenile  
and stupid. How many years left did he have? probably less than   
twenty, if that.  
  
"Well, if you're so sure he is such a problem, I shall see to  
it that she gets a good talking-to for her actions. Relax, my   
friend. This won't blow open the existence of the Coven to the   
general populace or anything...."  
  
You are given just so many years to enjoy your life. He found  
that out when his older brother died ten years ago. He was in his  
late fifties at the time.... Early in the expectations of some.  
  
"Yes, I may not know the kind of person Fitchner is, but look  
at the situation, my friend. He was about to commit the act of   
suicide upon his person. Michelle's link to her father is extremely  
strong. She would have known of his intended actions, and reacted  
accordingly. Now, if you wish her to be punished for this, then I  
shall be happy to oblige. But I really don't think it is as   
desperate a situation as you seem to make it."  
  
Too early in his expectations. He and his brother had shared  
a close relationship. The sudden passing had left him damaged   
within, in a way many could not even begin to understand.  
  
"Very well. I shall hear from you later on this matter, yes?  
Good. Goodbye." Akizuki hit the off button of the phone and   
glanced through the window one more time. The children were gone,  
now. He sighed and stepped away....  
  
----o  
  
"Where are you taking me?"  
  
"Shutup and you might just find out." Aoi dragged Ami through  
the corridors of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police building by the arm.  
A couple of times the girl had protested about the rough handling,   
so Aoi would reply by squeezing her nails into her arm. Well, it   
was enough to shut her up, for a while at least. "Now, if I know   
Kaji, he'd be playing around in the forensics department." She came   
to a lift and pressed the button to go up.  
  
"Please..." Ami looked imploringly at her "I came here to..."  
  
"..Confess to the murder of your friend, yes yes yes.... Give  
me a break girl. I can read you like a book." Aoi sighed, rolling  
her eyes.  
  
"It's the truth." Ami clenched a fist at her side,   
determinedly.  
  
"Oh yeah? And what did she die of, then, eh?"  
  
Ami determination evaporated, and she became flustered. "She,   
ah.... I had the pair I sent to.... Uh.... They were going to...  
drug her, overdose her.... Umm... That failed to do the job, so   
they shot...." Ami turned away, trying to hide her pained   
expression. For a few moments, Aoi thought the girl might even be   
sick. It passed.  
  
  
Aoi inwardly shrugged. The girl certainly knew the basics of   
what happened. But still, whatever it was that had given her the   
ability to see through the magic, that disguised the Sailorsenshis'   
identities, was also seeing through the pretence of the confession.  
This girl, Mizuno Ami, was LYING, and she wanted to know why.  
  
The lift doors opened, and Aoi silently dragged Ami in,   
pressing the button for the next floor. Ami looked at her as she  
stared at the closing doors.  
  
"Well, was I right?"  
  
"Hmm?" Aoi turned to her, lost in thought.  
  
"Was I right? Is that how she died?"  
  
"You tell me. You're the one confessing."  
  
Aoi turned away as Ami looked at the floor, red faced. A  
smile crept to the corners of Aoi's mouth. She asked such a   
question! It had been like reciting something she was told to   
say.... However, this girl's social skills weren't exactly top   
notch. In fact, right from the start, Aoi detected an element   
of.... She couldn't define what it was.... A psychological   
condition, maybe? Or perhaps an intellectual dysfunction? Whatever   
the case, the girl was not at ease with the company of others, but   
was trying EXTREMELY hard to emulate a semblance of normal social  
behaviour.  
  
She sighed. This was pure speculation on her part. Her keen  
senses were mixing with her psychological training, creating a  
crossbred diagnosis that was 50% intuition, 50% educated opinion.  
Pity she didn't have these senses earlier, she could have avoided  
the need to join the police and jumped straight into psychiatric  
practice. Of course, if there was anywhere in Japan that was worse  
than the Police Force with its attitude to women, it was the medical  
profession.  
  
  
Aoi smiled again. The girl had a mother who worked as a   
doctor. She had to meet her when they called her in and ask her   
what it was like for her. Aoi was putting money on finding a woman  
with exactly the same kind of personality as Ami.  
  
A socially stilted intellectual. An autistic savant.  
  
Aoi shook her head. "Stop it, for Kami's sake." She mumbled  
to herself. All this thinking was giving her a headache. She   
turned to Ami, who had been staring at her after her mutterings.   
The girl shied away, quickly, as if afraid to look her in the eye.  
  
The lift doors opened, and Aoi dragged Ami into the corridor   
beyond, turning left. After a short distance, she arrived at a set   
of doors which lead through into another corridor, painted a pale   
green. The Forensics department....  
  
Aoi shivered. She always hated walking into this part of the   
building. More than once, she had been given practical lessons on   
internal human physiology here, by being made to watch through   
several autopsies. Of course, she had nobody but herself to blame   
for that.... It had all been part of her attempt to get into the   
Major Crime department.  
  
That it failed made the shade of the walls all that more   
unpleasant.  
  
They arrived at the end of the corridor, where a door lead in  
to a small office. She peered through the small window set above   
the handle of the door. As she expected, Kaji was chatting away to   
one of the pathologists, Honeaki. She opened the door and strode   
in, causing the pair to turn as she took Ami by the shoulders and  
made her sit on one of the chairs that lined the near wall.  
  
"Stay!" She waved a finger in Ami's face. Ami nodded mutely.   
Aoi then turned and stepped over to Kaji and Honeaki.  
  
"Uh, hi, Kiko-san. Finished your little search...." Kaji  
blinked uneasily as Aoi stopped in front of him.  
  
"Yes, if it is of any interest to you. Hi Kumada. You two  
talking about anything I should be hearing."  
  
"Who's the chick?" Kaji thumbed Ami.  
  
"Don't you worry about her. You don't normally spend this  
amount of time hanging around the forensics department unless there  
is something to interest you."  
  
  
"Ah yes." Kaji smiled, and gestured to Honeaki. Aoi turned  
to the pathologist.  
  
"Well, we've been researching the batch numbers for the   
prescription drugs found near the body of the sailorsenshi."  
  
Aoi half turned to Ami and saw the girl wince. She turned   
back and put up a hand. "A little more... quietly, if you don't   
mind." Honeaki and Kaji looked at each other a moment.  
  
"Who is she?" Kaji frowned. "This girl.... Is she...?"  
  
"Yeah, well, she's come in to help us with our search for the  
Sailorsenshi. She apparently knows who they are." Aoi smiled at  
the two men sweetly. "So a little shutting up in her presence won't  
go astray, okay?"  
  
"Alright, alright...." Kaji sighed.  
  
"So..." Aoi continued. "What about these batch numbers,   
then?"  
  
"Well... You see, all prescription drugs, their packaging and  
whatnot, are stamped with their particular batch number, so if there  
is any problem with them, or if they are stolen and turn up   
somewhere they shouldn't be, they can be traced back to their point  
of origin."  
  
Aoi nodded. "I know that much."  
  
"We traced the origin of these drugs.... They had been sold   
to a hospital. A MAJOR private hospital, with a lot of influential  
people within the medical profession working there...."  
  
"Shit." Aoi blinked.  
  
"Shit, indeed." Kaji chuckled. "I wouldn't want to be the   
one to charge in there and start asking questions...."  
  
"Wait a minute..." A thought came to Aoi's mind. "Is this  
hospital near the Juuban area?"  
  
"Well, it's close. I wouldn't say that it was nearby, but   
it's not that far away." Honeaki shrugged. "Is this relevant to  
the case?"  
  
Aoi turned and looked back at Ami. "A mother who works as a   
doctor." She said to herself, softly, then turned back to Honeaki.   
"Can you call them and ask to arrange an interview with a Doctor   
Mizuno...."  
  
----o  
  
Carey West stared through the large panel of windows, that   
looked down upon the operations centre of the Sacred House, which   
had the appearance of a kind of space program ground control, with   
the same air of icy unemotionality that followed her wherever she   
went.  
  
She was lost in thought.... Working over the possibilites of   
losing control of someone like Sherrie Meehan, of having a Becoming   
incident in a public place, involving a Sailorsenshi, no less, and a  
few other things besides....   
  
Her gift, of being able to deal with such affairs without it   
flustering her in the slightest, was what had seen her gain the   
position as Chief of Operations, despite being so young.  
  
She wasn't even surprised by the entrance of Tani Genzaburo   
into her private domain, the large viewing room she used as her   
office. Even before he had thought of seeing her, she knew the   
precise moment he would step through her office door.  
  
She turned a fraction of a second before the door opened, and  
watched as he stepped in. A few moments passed between them as Gen  
realised he had been expected. He cleared his throat, nervously.  
  
"I hear my daughter was involved in an incident outside the   
bounds of the Sacred House."  
  
"A Becoming incident, yes."  
  
Gen blinked a couple of times, and tried to smile. "I shall   
not disturb your thoughts for long. Can you tell her to see me when   
she returns."  
  
"Hai." Carey nodded. Another uneasy silence passed between   
them, then he turned and stepped out of the office, closing the door   
behind him.  
  
Carey sighed and shook her head. He was worse than usual,   
today....  
  
  
Gen shivered. He'd always had trouble dealing with women.   
One of the reasons he liked the air of conformity and structure that   
existed within the Sacred House. Here, relationships were more   
formal and predictable. But he still had trouble with some. Like  
Carey West. She had never been easy to fathom. Of course, that had  
a lot to do with what she was.  
  
The less thought about that, the better.  
  
----o  
  
Sherrie sniffed the air within the warehouse. Despite its   
dilapidated nature, it was still being used by the company that   
owned the factory yards. Boxes and crates were piled in long rows,  
only just barely lit by what little light shone through the high  
windows. Water dripped through holes in the roof, and the entire  
place was enveloped in a cacophany of aromas.... Of must, rust,  
wet cement, wet earth and rotting wood.  
  
She smiled. Pagan wasn't stupid. If there was anywhere he  
would hide from her, it would be in a place where her sense of smell  
would be severely limited....  
  
But not limited enough. She could almost taste him in here.  
The wondrous aroma of his flesh. Her hand rested against the edge   
of the door, gripping the wooden frame so hard that it began to   
crack. She stared at the hand, removing it from the frame. Her   
fingernails had begun to curve inwards, becoming clawlike. For a   
few moments, she held the hand, closing her eyes....  
  
Then she licked her lips, and disappeared through the   
doorway....  
  
  
END OF PART 11  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
DDFA ayanami@internode.on.net  
2nd Apr 1998 


	12. SIU part 12: Cold Thoughts in the Twilig...

S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page)  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Bandai and Kodansya. All  
other characters were thought up by me. Well, its true, isn't it?  
^_^  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Wet." Keiko said softly as she was guided through the   
grounds of the factory yard. Rumiko smiled.  
  
"Yes, we're getting really wet in the rain, aren't we?" Her  
voice tone was soft and calming.  
  
"Rain." Keiko giggled and stared up at the clouds, closing   
her eyes as the rain splashed on her face. Rumiko wanted to smile.  
But this wasn't the time for lighthearted reflection.  
  
She sighed as she tipped her head, slightly, allowing water to  
run from the wide-brimmed hat she was wearing. She liked the rain,  
but only when she was looking at it from shelter.  
  
Damn that Sherrie! She knew there had been something wrong   
with her as long ago as last night when they'd.... But then,   
Sherrie had always been a strange one. In many respects.  
  
All the same, Sherrie had promised her... had acted in a   
manner that suggested she was still taking her medication. Rumiko   
felt a sense of personal betrayal. She had befriended Sherrie   
because there had been very few within the House who would, and   
certainly none outside. And she had made Sherrie promise, time and   
time again, to take her medication.  
  
But within Sherrie lay well-planted seeds of disquiet. No  
matter how hard Rumiko tried, Sherrie was the kind to follow her  
own path to destiny, wherever that would lead. Even to death....  
  
  
She felt Keiko take her shoulder, the fingers of the smaller   
girl's right hand digging into her dark dress. "Stopped." Keiko   
whispered. Rumiko glanced at her. She was still staring at the   
sky, half-smiling.  
  
"Yes, we have stopped. We should keep going, shouldn't we?"  
  
"Going." Keiko's expression changed to a more worried one.  
Rumiko softened her grip on the girl's left arm and continued to   
guide her along.  
  
"Sherrie." Keiko began to shake her free hand.  
  
The clouds became darker.  
  
----o  
  
Part Twelve  
Cold Thoughts in the Twilight  
  
----o  
  
The greatest fear held by everyone is that of death. Not just   
of death, itself, but the personalisation of the experience.... The  
terror of simply ceasing to exist. Even those who hold the very  
strongest of religious faiths fear death, in the quiet moments when  
doubt comes visiting from the deepest recesses of their minds.  
  
It was a fear that Sherilyn Meehan had held all her life,   
right from her difficult birth, in County Cork in Ireland, to a   
single mother, to the moment she first "became" what she was, today,  
in a laneway in the northern suburbs of Tokyo.  
  
And it was a fear she was having, right now, as she sat   
underneath the metal frame of the crate stack, staring out at the   
water that now fairly gushed through the holes in the roof of the  
warehouse, pouring down over the rotting wooden crates and onto the   
mossy floor. The light that had seeped dimly through the high   
windows had become darker, bringing with it a sense of the world   
closing in around her.  
  
  
She wrung her hands, ignoring the pain the claws were making.  
They didn't really look like hands, anymore. Her skin tone had   
become paler, and her teeth were growing. She could feel them,   
pushing into her gums, the unpleasantness being relieved by the   
equivalent growth in her jawline.   
  
But more than that, she could feel the darkness descend upon   
her mind, like the time she "became".... A minor death, followed by   
a rebirth of her conciousness. She had the Sacred House to thank   
for that, but....  
  
  
She wanted to see what it was that lay at the end of the   
process of "becoming". She wanted to see the truth behind the being  
that she was, and to do that meant refusing to take her medication.  
The Vasculin Orange, whose origin was unknown to her, and which was   
almost specifically designed for her....   
  
There were several forms of the medication and hers had been   
the fifth to be manufactured, due to the unique and unusual nature   
of her condition. Now, that condition was being allowed to run   
free.... Three weeks without the influence of the Vasculin.   
Perhaps it was a mistake, but in any case, nature was taking its   
course.  
  
  
She had come to Tokyo in search of her younger sister, Mhaere.  
Her memories of the girl were patchy, at best. Broken thoughts of  
huddling with Mhaere as a child, to fight the ravages of the cold,   
within the tiny house in which they'd lived their first few years.   
Almost like wild animals.... No sense or desire for self control.   
They had made touble for everyone, including their mother. Before   
they knew what happened, they had been removed from her care and   
placed with separate foster families.  
  
  
The dark closed in a little further. Sherrie shivered. She  
wished Mhaere was here, now.... The desire to commune with the   
litter.... A strange thought that entered her mind. She wondered  
if Mhaere had ever gone through a "becoming". They both shared the  
same mother and father, which was nothing short of a miracle   
considering the number of men who had passed through their mother's  
bed.  
  
Sherrie put a hand to her face, trying to shut out the world.  
She felt embarassed about this loss of control. Control of her own  
body. There had been times when she'd slashed herself, mightily  
angry at what she'd seen as her body's betrayal of her being. The   
wounds would heal over, as if they'd never existed.  
  
But most of all, she felt embarassed about simply BEING.   
Everything she'd ever done always seemed to turn out wrong, one way   
or another. She wanted to hide from people, tired of making   
apologies for what she had done. And she hadn't done anything   
abjectely wrong....  
  
Hide hide hideaway.... Within her own little hole, and fall  
into the arms of her true self....  
  
  
"This really isn't like you, you know. Giving up in your   
search for me." The voice rang through the darkness. Despite, her  
best attempts to shut out all light, all sound, all senses, she   
could not shut out the noise of another mind, communicating directly  
with her own. The psychic link, an open sluice gate, letting in the  
kind of shit she didn't want to hear.  
  
"Go away, Lacey!"  
  
"I thought you came here to catch me. Perhaps even eat me, or  
something of that nature. I'm really disappointed in you, Sherrie.  
I didn't lead you all this way for it to end like this."  
  
"I'll kill you, Lacey."  
  
She heard him giggle. "I don't think so, somehow. I can   
sense fear in your mind. What happened to that confidence that drew  
you to me?"  
  
"It is dying, and so am I."  
  
She could feel the sense of surprise that emanated from him.   
He couldn't sense the change in her. All he could sense was the   
logical, human mind. A human mind that was dying, to be replaced   
by... something. She didn't know what, but she knew it was there.  
For a moment, she felt a sparkle of light enter that darkness. The  
light grew brighter.  
  
She opened her eyes. If she could have seen them, then she  
would have understood the depth to which she was changing. Gone was  
the piercing, yet human, hue, replaced by a feline eyeslit within a  
deep green orb. The windows to her soul, telling all.  
  
She blinked a couple of times. Her eyesight seemed to be   
improving. Even though the light wasn't getting any brighter, the  
definition of her surroundings were becoming greater. She could see  
the finer details of the warehouse. The effect was almost   
singularly exhilarating and disorienting. Clawed hands gripped the  
top bar of the platform frame as she slowly emerged into what was,  
for all intents and purposes, a new world.  
  
This certainly didn't happen the last time.  
  
She smiled. Perhaps she wasn't going to die, after all....  
  
----o  
  
"Doctor Mizuno?" Kaji stared at Aoi. He turned to Honeaki.  
"Is there a Doctor Mizuno at the hospital?"  
  
"Damned if I know. I've only been in touch with the   
hospital's administrator.... Well, there are about thirty or so   
doctors working there. There might be a Doctor Mizuno amngst them."  
  
Kaji turned back to Aoi, giving her a dubious expression.   
"Kiko-saaaaaaan...." She bit her lip.  
  
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"  
  
"Who is this Doctor Mizuno, and what connection does she have  
to this case? What the hell do you know, Kiko-san?"  
  
"I'll tell you." The voice came from behind Aoi. Ami had   
stood, hands clutched nervously in front of her, looking down at the  
ground. The trio turned to face her. "She is my mother. My name   
is Mizuno Ami." Ami turned to Aoi, an angry expression on her face.  
"And she thinks my mother might have something to do with the death  
of my friend."  
  
"Your friend?" Kaji pushed past Aoi, stepping up to Ami.   
"You knew Kino Makoto?"  
  
"Ami...." Aoi clenched her teeth. Ami looked at her, then  
back at Kaji.  
  
"Of course I knew her. I was the one who had her killed."  
  
Kaji's jaw dropped. "You?"  
  
"Yes, I came here to give myself up. But she...." She   
gestured to Aoi. "She dragged me here. I still don't know why."  
  
Kaji turned to Aoi and looked at her quizzically. Aoi sighed,  
shrugging her shoulders. "So I wanted to keep her away from the  
Majors for a while."  
  
"KIKO-SAN!" Kaji shook his head disbelievingly. "You should  
have.... You should have, at the very least, had her give a   
statement."  
  
"But she's.... She's more important than you realise, Kaji.  
She holds the key to the identities of the Sailorsenshi."  
  
"This is a MURDER investigation we're involved with, Kiko-  
san." Honeaki put his hand on Aoi's shoulder. "Whether or not she  
has information about the Sailorsenshi is immaterial. That comes  
first."  
  
"Oh, for Kami's sake, she IS a Sailorsenshi...." Aoi   
swallowed after she said that, only then realising what it was she  
had said.  
  
"You're shittin' me. You gotta be shittin' me!" Kaji turned  
and looked down at Ami, whose face had gone red. She was doing her  
best not to be looking at anyone in particular. "Mizuno-san... Is  
she... Is this the truth?"  
  
A few moments passed. Very LONG moments for Ami. She felt  
the air in the room become thick and heavy, and she started to   
shiver. When she finally spoke, her voice was almost a croak.  
  
"H...hai."  
  
"Bloody KAMI SHIT!" Kaji almost fainted. "Which one are YOU?  
Mars? Venus? Saturn?"  
  
"She's Mercury, you great pillock. Can't you see she's close  
to breaking down?" Aoi put her hand on Kaji's shoulder, pulling him  
back from Ami. "Why did you think I dragged her away from the front  
desk? Can you imagine what would have happened had I handed her to  
Shimazaki, or maybe even Katarin or Narusaki? She'd go to pieces.  
And besides, I don't believe her."  
  
"I DID IT! I'M TELLING YOU THE TRUTH!" Ami thrust Kaji aside  
with surprising strength and ranged up on Aoi. "I'm the killer.   
I'm the one who had those two bastard kill Makoto.... Mako-chan.   
She was my friend, but she threatened the security of the   
Sailorsenshi. She... SHE HAD TO DIE! Oh please.... I don't want  
to talk about it anymore...." Ami burst into tears, throwing her   
hands to her face.  
  
Aoi turned to Kaji. "And you want to send this to the Majors?  
They'll chew her up and spit her out."  
  
"All the same, Kiko-san...." Honeaki shook his head. "A   
statement HAS to be taken."  
  
"She has the right to a representative, and a family member   
should be present. Since she lives with her mother, her mother   
should be contacted. And I'll put money on her mother being a   
doctor at that hospital.... What's its name?"  
  
"Kanegawa Private Hospital."  
  
Aoi turned to Ami. "Well, Ami? Is it Kanegawa?" Ami looked  
up at her, contempt written across her tear-stained face.  
  
----o  
  
Pagan was actually beginning to get a little worried. He'd  
been able to contact his partners, Nobuhiro and Michelle, before   
he'd arrived at the factory yards, telling them he may need   
assistance. Well, that was a while ago now, and he hadn't seen hide  
nor hair of them. What had started off as something of a dangerous  
game on his part was getting all the more dangerous by the moment.  
  
He was ensconced within the loft at the far end of the   
warehouse. It was the driest area he could find, and certainly   
seemed to be the only part of the building where the roof was in a   
sufficient state of repair.  
  
He looked down, through the crates that had been stacked in   
the loft, at the warehouse floor. It was hard to see anything,   
since there was so much... junk, basically, littering his view. But  
on occasion, he could spot Sherrie, flitting between objects.  
  
  
He liked Sherrie, as a person. As a HUMAN person, that was.  
The human side of Sherrie was often suppressed underneath a bestial  
coating. He'd managed to convince himself, at one stage, that if he  
was able to appeal to that raw, base side of her nature, he'd be   
able to win her over to the Coven. There were other reasons than   
the purely ideological, of course, the first being he wanted to get  
her into the sack. But apart from that, he found Sherrie quite an  
appealing character. Well, it technically amounted to the same   
thing....  
  
  
There had been so very few like him within the Coven. Despite   
their names, both the Sacred House and the Coven of Atrocity had   
chosen to seek very different bloodlines in their early stages of   
development. Many of the more "bestial" types ended up within the   
House, whilst the "higher-state-of-being" types ended up within the   
Coven. He didn't know why.  
  
The condition he'd endured was very similar to Sherrie's,   
although their lineages had followed very different paths, and had   
found very different sources. But, deep down, he felt a certain   
kinship, and an understansing of what it was that Sherrie had gone   
through.  
  
Until the moments when she'd tried to eat him.  
  
Granted, she was merely defending herself against an operative  
of the Coven, but Sherrie liked to take things to extremes. It had   
been said that, when Sherrie had "become", she'd neatly swallowed a  
couple of drunks and was starting on a schoolgirl when she'd bitten  
a Vasculin bullet. It was all heresay, but considering Sherrie, he  
could believe it.  
  
  
There was movement nearby a rusting loader, which had been   
parked beside the north wall of the warehouse. The figure was   
shadowy, so he couldn't get a good view, but the way it paused   
worried him. He contemplated the possibility that she might have  
already spotted him, and was merely toying with him. In which case,  
a hole in the roof might have come in handy. He took a quick glance  
at the solid roof above him.  
  
  
The crates in front of him collapsed, and something barged   
through, snarling viciously. Pagan fell back with a gasp and had   
just enough time to see the eyes of his attacker when the floor of  
the loft collapsed beneath him. He fell into a large stack of   
crates, crashing through them and onto the solid concrete floor.  
  
He picked himself up, painfully, and stared up at the loft, to  
see those eyes staring down at him.  
  
"Sherrie?" He whispered, softly. From the darkness above, he  
could here a deep chuckle. He ran, as fast as he could, for the   
door. He knew it would be fruitless.... He wasn't sure what it was  
that had tried to attack him in the loft, but if it was Sherrie, and  
he couldn't think of who or what else it could be, then something   
very strange had occured to her, and that could only mean one thing.  
  
That was why his desperate dash was fruitless. Because if   
Sherrie had done what he thought she'd done, then what she was now  
was more than a hundred members of the Coven could deal with.  
  
  
He flexed his muscles, hearing the sound of the loft floor   
creaking, a figure leaping into the air. His clothes began to tear  
on his body as it changed shape. Soon, he was running on all fours,  
his body forming the shape of a large wolf. His speed increased  
threefold and he was out of the doorway as the figure landed on the  
crates nearby. They cracked under the newfound weight, and he could  
hear a bestial cry of frustration as the crates were torn to   
shreds....  
  
----o  
  
Usagi found herself back at the park, where she had started   
the temporarily aborted attempt at rounding up the senshi. She was  
soaking wet, from head to toe, with both rain and sweat, after   
running all the way from the coffee shop above the arcade.... Now,  
she was leaning against one of the poles of the rotunda, desperately  
trying to catch her breath. She never thought all that running  
practice she'd received by being late for school so often would   
actually come in handy.  
  
Minako.... She almost felt sick. She'd abandoned her. How  
could she have done that. In doing so, she'd lowered herself to the  
same set of warped moral values that the Outer Senshi operated by. No,   
that was stupid. She saw what was happening to Minako.... She  
didn't understand it, but it was more than painfully obvious that  
something strange had happened to her. Usagi put a hand to her   
throat. It was sore, and she was certain that it would have been  
badly bruised. How was she going to explain this to her parents   
when she arrived home tonight?  
  
Her parents.... Oh Kami, she had forgotten about them. If  
Setsuna had been right about those people at the cafeteria.... If  
Setsuna was right about all those groups, pursuing the Sailorsenshi,  
then it was possible that they would become targets, as well. Usagi  
shook her head. it was all too much to think about. She wished her  
Mamo-chan was here. She needed his decisiveness in these kinds of  
situations.  
  
  
She stood up and looked around. The park was empty. She had  
been certain that she'd heard Setsuna tell her to return to the   
park. The elder senshi had told them to split up in case they were  
being pursued by one or both of those girls in the coffee shop.  
  
The park was empty. It was raining heavily and getting rather  
dark. Usagi shivered, wrapping her arms around her. She suddenly  
realised how very cold it was, and how, being wet, made things   
worse. Had today gone to plan, she'd just be finishing her classes  
and heading off on the train for home. Unfortunately, that was not  
what fate had in store for her today. She thought of her warm   
bedroom.... These past few weeks, she'd get home from study and   
snuggle up in a nice warm bed. Even Luna wouldn't chide her for   
that, since she was spending most of her time trying to do the same  
thing.  
  
  
"Hello." The voice was so soft and sudden that Usagi almost  
leapt back out into the rain. She turned to see a young man, a   
caucasian, with the most incredibly beautiful long blond hair and   
effeminate features, dressed in loose flowing long-sleeve black   
cotton shirt and jeans, sitting on the bench, legs crossed and   
leaning against the railing with his hands folded behind his head.  
  
"Who... who are..." Usagi stammered. The young man smiled  
and her heart skipped a beat. The guy was such a BABE she couldn't  
help herself, and promptly forgot that he hadn't been there only a  
second beforehand.  
  
He smiled and stood. "My name is Lysithea Caprice." He   
bowed. "And I have been keeping an eye on you, Tsukino Usagi san.   
Or should I say.... Sailormoon?" He stepped forward, hands crossed   
over in front of him. Usagi eyed his thin, effeminate frame with a   
slightly boggled, drooling expression. He chuckled softly as she   
attempted to regain her composure.  
  
"How do you know who I am?"  
  
"I am a member of a group known as the Coven of Atrocity.   
A secret society dedicated to the freedom of those who are born, or  
cursed, with the gifts of magical powers. I have been investigating  
the activities of both yourself and your friends for a number of   
years...."  
  
"In the name of this Coven of Atrocity?"  
  
"Actually, no. They don't know who you are. You see, I don't  
entirely trust some of the elements within the COA.... So I have   
opted to investigate you on my own."  
  
"Why introduce yourself to me now, then?"  
  
He shrugged. "Because I saw what happened back there within   
the coffee shop.... You were attacked by two members of the Coven's  
mortal enemies...."  
  
"The Sacred House?" Usagi levelled her gaze at him and he   
raised his eyebrows.  
  
"You've heard of them?"  
  
"In passing. You're avoiding the question, though." She   
raised her head, trying to look imperious, not easy to do when one  
was wet and bedraggled.  
  
He sighed. "I saw what they did to your friend, turning her  
against you like that. Now she is in their hands, and may face the  
same fate as your other friend."  
  
"What other friend?" Usagi frowned. He blinked at her.  
  
"You don't know?"  
  
"Don't know what?"  
  
"Your friend, Kino Makoto... You visited her apartment this  
morning...."  
  
"Mako-chan?!?" Usagi stepped forward. "What has happened to  
her? Tell me!" She looked into his face with pleading eyes. He  
couldn't help but feel an empathy for her, surprising himself.  
  
"She.... The body of a Sailorsenshi was found in a motel on   
the outskirts of Tokyo very late last night. The news has been   
sweeping through our... community, but has been kept from the media  
and the general public...."  
  
"No..." Usagi's face started to screw up, tears forming in   
her eyes. "No, that's not possible! I would have felt something.  
I'm linked to them all.... I would have known...."  
  
He placed his hands on her shoulders. "Sailormoon, this isn't  
the time for tears. Another one of your friends is now in danger.  
Only I know where they have taken her. I know their ways, and the  
layout of their headquarters. If we are quick, then we shall be   
able to rescue her from a fate worse than death. but I need your  
power to get in, and most of all, your trust." He put a hand under  
her chin and lifted her face to his gaze. "Are you willing to give  
me that trust?"  
  
  
END OF PART 12  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
DDFA ayanami@internode.on.net  
7th Apr 1998 


	13. SIU part 13: Deep Black

S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page)  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Bandai and Kodansya. All  
other characters were thought up by me. Well, its true, isn't it?  
^_^  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Pagan ran.  
  
It was pathetically easy to do in his wolven form. Not that  
he had the option of which way he was going to run.... Wherever he  
could see a clear bit of ground looked good.  
  
A momentary glance behind him proved his worst fears. Sherrie   
wasn't there, and yet his lycanthropically enhanced senses could   
SMELL her presence. Good thing he WAS a lycanthrope. It certainly  
set him apart from some of the more ordinary members of their little  
community, and more than once got him out of a tight spot.... Like  
being stuck in a warehouse with someone who was next to invisible   
and wanted him for dinner.  
  
He'd thought about using his transport powers, but the energy  
he'd already expended on getting here had been enough to come close  
to draining him. There were limits to the usage of such powers, and  
their effects on the human body were similar to fatigue. Continue   
to push yourself in either a physical or magical sense, and the body  
eventually pegs out on you.  
  
Old Akizuki taught him that. But then, Akizuki was a Kyubi  
Kitsune.... A breed destined for a long life. He wished he had   
Akizuki's talent for survival, because it looked like he'd be lucky  
to get out of this alive.  
  
  
He raced around a large shed to come face to face with a   
wharf.... Hemmed in, dammit! He looked to his left, but was afraid   
she may have already covered that escape, since it generally lead  
back to the warehouse. To his right, the wharf came to a dead end  
where the shed jutted out, leading to the loading cranes.  
  
He cursed and looked back. He still couldn't see her. Even  
under normal circumstances, a bean sidhe should be intrinsically  
visible. The powers of the bean sidhe were based on sonic spiritual  
projection.... Capable of projecting their physical self across  
an empty space with the use of soundwaves, and invisible to the   
naked eye. But when not using their powers, they should still be  
able to be seen....  
  
  
A shockwave struck him. A pure sonic screech with the   
momentum of a light truck. Dazed, he found himself landing within   
the waters of the docking canal, which was enough to shake him back  
into a human form. He rose to the surface for a second, peering out   
of the murky water with a nervous glance.  
  
There was something, standing near the dock.... A vague   
outline... A figure of... something. He'd never actually seen a   
bean sidhe in its natural form, before. Nobody had. Nobody alive,   
anyway. It had been a few hundred years since the last known   
sighting.   
  
And then he saw THOSE eyes, and was down into the depths of   
the water in a flash, swimming for the other side.  
  
The water was no shelter.  
  
----o  
  
Part Thirteen  
Deep Black  
  
----o  
  
Lysithea sighed. "I saw what they did to your friend, turning   
her against you like that. Now she is in their hands, and may face   
the same fate as your other friend."  
  
"What other friend?" Usagi frowned. He blinked at her.  
  
"You don't know?"  
  
"Don't know what?"  
  
"Your friend, Kino Makoto... You visited her apartment this  
morning...."  
  
"Mako-chan?!?" Usagi stepped forward. "What has happened to  
her? Tell me!" She looked into his face with pleading eyes. He  
couldn't help but feel an empathy for her, surprising himself.  
  
"She.... The body of a Sailorsenshi was found in a motel on   
the outskirts of Tokyo very late last night. The news has been   
sweeping through our... community, but has been kept from the media  
and the general public...."  
  
"No..." Usagi's face started to screw up, tears forming in   
her eyes. "No, that's not possible! I would have felt something.  
I'm linked to them all.... I would have known...."  
  
He placed his hands on her shoulders. "Sailormoon, this isn't  
the time for tears. Another one of your friends is now in danger.  
Only I know where they have taken her. I know their ways, and the  
layout of their headquarters. If we are quick, then we shall be   
able to rescue her from a fate worse than death. but I need your  
power to get in, and most of all, your trust." He put a hand under  
her chin and lifted her face to his gaze. "Are you willing to give  
me that trust?"  
  
Usagi snapped away from him, turning around and looking out   
from the rotunda, into the rain-misted park. The gloom of their   
surroundings did nothing for her state.  
  
  
Mako-chan.... Thoughts of her friend filled her mind. The   
day they first met. The experiences they had shared. And yet....  
How could she be dead? She didn't know whether or not she could   
trust this strange caucasian....  
  
  
"Why are you so keen to help me? I mean, really, this is not  
just a matter of ideology, is it?"  
  
Lysithea looked at her, blinking. She had not turned to face  
him whilst asking this, so he was denied reading her expression.  
  
"There is someone within the House I want to see. Someone who  
matters a great deal to me, who has fallen into the trap of their   
deceit."  
  
"You will help me rescue my friend from these people, in   
return for rescuing your own friend?"  
  
"Not so much rescue. I merely wish to see her. If you help   
me achieve this, I will help you."  
  
Usagi pondered this for a few moments. "I was warned, by...   
Another of our number, about your group. She said you were our   
enemy. And yet you say you are working separately from them because  
there are elements within that you don't trust." She paused. "I do  
not trust you...."  
  
"I expected nothing else, but..."  
  
"I'm not finished yet." She snapped. "If you do know where   
they have taken her, then I shall follow you that far. For all I   
know, you could help rescue her and then hand the both of us over to  
the Coven."  
  
Lysithea shook his head. "I promise you this much, I shan't  
allow you to fall into the hands of either the Coven or the House."  
He chuckled mirthlessly. "Do you think I've wanted to be trapped  
all these years within a group such as the Coven? And do you think  
I enjoy the idea of allowing this to happen to anyone else?"  
  
"You can make all the promises you want. I don't know what  
the Coven is like, unlike your good self, but I value my freedom,   
and that of my friends, over ideological goals."  
  
"You and your senshi friends represent a form of ideology.   
You would not have stood against a group like the Black Moon Family,  
otherwise."  
  
"How do you know about them?" Usagi turned on him. Her face  
was tear-stained, hey eyes bloodshot. She was just barely holding  
back her emotions.  
  
"I...." He felt the power of her command. What kind of power  
did this girl contain that made him subject to her will? "I was   
part of the Coven's team, to infiltrate the Black Moon Family when  
it made its presence felt. That was when I gathered all the   
information I could about you. All the information they had, of   
course, which was a great deal more than you think."  
  
"The Black Moon Family was nothing more than a ragtag group.  
A powerful one, but ragtag all the same. They had no REAL   
organisation other than what we fought, cleansed or defeated."  
  
Lysithea chuckled. "Oh, I think you'd be very surprised, just  
what kind of bureaucracy they had set up within Tokyo at the time.  
They were very nearly close to exposing your identities to us all.  
But you dealt with them in time." He shrugged. "Once the family  
itself fell, their underlings destroyed everything and scattered to  
the four winds. Well, not everything."  
  
  
Usagi leaned her head back and closed her eyes. "Why have you  
been keeping this information to yourself? Why have you never   
contacted us before?"  
  
"I saw no need to either divulge what I had discovered or make  
my presence known to you. As you say, one of your number already   
knew of the existence of the Coven. This was Sailorpluto, was it   
not?" Usagi said nothing. He continued. "Whatever the case, she  
would have known of our existence. From your reactions, I take it  
she has only told you about it of recent?"  
  
Usagi shook her head, lowering it and opening her eyes.   
"Look, let's get it over and done with, alright? The longer we   
wait, the more likely Mina-chan will...." She swallowed, trying to   
hold back a sob. Lysithea nodded and held out a hand to her. She  
looked at the hand for a few moments, and took it.  
  
  
"PRINCESS! DON'T!" Usagi turned to her right. Standing in  
the rain, a short distance from the rotunda, were Setsuna and   
Hotaru. Before she could say anything, however, a light surrounded   
both her and Lysithea, and they disappeared from sight.  
  
  
Setsuna charged up to the rotunda, tripping over the step at  
the entrance, and fell to her hands and knees. She gritted her   
teeth and pounded the floor.  
  
"Princess no BAKA! Why did you have to go and do THAT?" She  
pounded her fists so hard into the cement that Hotaru thought she  
was going to hurt herself.  
  
"Setsuna...." Hotaru stood up into the rotunda and stared   
down at the Guardian of Time. It was the first occasion she'd ever  
seen Setsuna throw a tantrum.  
  
"I go to every effort to protect her, and what does she do?  
Make a pact with the devil! Why do I bother, sometimes? I just  
can't protect her if she is going to do this sort of thing...."  
  
  
Hotaru groaned. "Oh, stop feeling sorry for yourself. You   
and I both know where that guy has taken her. Why don't we follow  
suit?"  
  
Setsuna turned to her, sitting up on her knees. "We don't   
have the luxury of performing elaborate rescue operations. The  
other senshi HAVE to be rounded up, at the very least so we know  
they are safe."  
  
"Well, we sure as hell know that Venus isn't safe. And maybe  
Jupiter, as well." Hotaru shook her head. "And now the Princess,   
too. We're doing just a GREAT job, I must say."  
  
"Have you got a better plan?" Setsuna now got to her feet and  
looked down at Hotaru. Hotaru wasn't intimidated by Setsuna's   
taller physical presence.  
  
"Yes. As I said, we know where that guy has taken Usagi. We  
should follow them."  
  
"Wrong." Setsuna waved a finger in front of Hotaru's face.   
"I shall follow them. You shall find the remaining senshi. I take   
it you are up to this task?" Setsuna sneered.  
  
"You supercilious little.... It's a good thing I'm not the   
violent type. You'd be on the ground about now." Hotaru held a   
fist up to Setsuna's face. Seeing she had overstepped the mark,   
Setsuna regained her composure and held her hands up in a calming   
gesture.  
  
"We're both allowing ourselves to be overcome by the stress of  
this situation. You are right, the Princess must be saved. We   
shall go with my plan. It is the only way." Hotaru put the fist   
down and nodded.  
  
"I shall check the Hikawa shrine. Rei may have made an   
appearance. As for Haruka and Michiru.... Well, one can only hope  
they have returned home. I can't begin to think where they have  
found themselves."  
  
----o  
  
Ami had grown tired of arguing with the damned woman. All   
this Kikotsuka Aoi seemed to want was to keep her from the hands of  
the Major Crime department.  
  
"....The girl came to give herself up! We're going to HAVE to  
take a statement from her, sooner rather than later, that's basic  
procedure!"  
  
"And you know, very well Kaji, what will happen once the   
Majors take over. She'll be run through the system, and we'll never  
have an opportunity to question her per the identities of the other  
Sailorsenshi."  
  
"Damn the identities of the other Sailorsenshi, Aoi-san....   
What crime is more important in this situation? Their vigilantism  
or the murder of one of their number?"  
  
Ami had sat back down in the seat that Aoi had put her in,   
earlier. She was feeling more than a little tired. She hadn't had  
any sleep for two nights, now. And after the emotions of wondering  
whether she should go to the police or not, and the trauma of   
actually walking through their doors and spilling everything....   
Only to have this happen.... She just didn't know whether she could  
take any more.  
  
The Kikotsuka woman was fighting with the other SIU officer,   
Akunatsuka Kaji, whilst the forensics officer, Honeaki, stood back,  
trying to appear removed from it all. Ami marvelled at the   
professionalism of the police department.  
  
"What you've already done, Aoi.... It just about breaks every  
rule in the book. You're witholding evidence, for a start."  
  
"What evidence? All you have to do is listen to her story.   
You'll soon see she is covering for someone. Her mother, most   
likely."  
  
Kaji put up his hands. "Very well, very well. I understand  
why you did what you did. I know Katarin and Shimazaki are on your  
case. But a statement shall have to be taken before we can proceed,  
either way."  
  
  
Aoi sighed and nodded. Ami closed her eyes. It seemed the   
woman was, at last, coming to her senses.  
  
And then she felt hands wrap around her head, covering her   
mouth. From behind.... Which should have been impossible, since   
there had been a wall behind her. Her eyes shot open and she tried  
to pull away, only to find herself being pulled back.... She let  
out a small, muffled cry.  
  
  
"Kami's shit!" Honeaki stood forward and pointed between Kaji  
and Aoi at Ami. They turned to see Ami being dragged through the   
wall by a pair of phantom-like arms.  
  
"What the hell...." Kaji said in a squeak that was almost   
comical. Aoi, without even thinking, ran forward just as Ami's  
legs started their way through, and grabbed her feet.  
  
She pulled hard, trying to wrestle the girl back through the  
wall, half turning to Kaji and Honeaki.  
  
"For Kami's sake, help me!" She shrieked. Kaji ran forward  
and grabbed Ami's calves, and the pair slowly dragged the girl back.  
They could hear her cries as her head reappeared. Whoever had hold  
of her had her by the arms, and was pretty damn strong to be putting  
up a fight against the pair of them....  
  
Then sparkles of energy ran along Ami's body, and the girl   
cried out in pain, matched by both Kaji and Aoi when the energy   
struck them. They fell back, and Ami vanished through the wall   
faster than it took the pair of them to hit the floor.  
  
Aoi was up first, her face an angry mask. Honeaki knelt down  
to them both.  
  
"Are you alright?" He picked up Kaji, whose eyes were   
spinning in delirium.  
  
"Damn straight I'm NOT alright!" Aoi got to her feet and ran  
over to the office door, throwing it open. She stared into the   
corridor beyond, which was empty. Shaking her head, she looked back  
at the wall Ami disappeared through, and saw that it backed onto the  
stairwell at the end of the corridor.  
  
Without thinking, Aoi raced out of the office and up to the  
stairwell door. Tentatively, she opened the door and peered in.  
  
She could see Ami, unconcious within the arms of some spectral  
figure, being carted down through the stairs. Without thinking, Aoi  
threw the door open.  
  
"STOP!" She shouted in the most commanding voice she could   
muster. The figure reeled and collapsed with Ami on the next flight  
down. Aoi ran to the first flight and looked down at the   
prospective kidnapper, and was mildly surprised.  
  
A young woman, perhaps not that much older than Ami herself,  
with medium length platinum-blond hair, very pale skin, wearing a   
very plain white dress, picked herself up from the base of the   
flight and glowered at Aoi.  
  
"That was mean, doing that to me."  
  
"I'm mean? What about what you're doing? What you DID?" Aoi  
began to make her way down the stairs. "Where are you going with   
that girl?"  
  
"For me to know and you to find out!" The young woman gripped  
Ami by the front of her shirt and literally hauled her up and into  
her arms. The young woman then faded back into a spectral figure   
and floated through the outer wall.  
  
Aoi growled and ran back up the stairs, back through the door   
and into the office. Honeaki had managed to bring Kaji round and   
the pair watched as the determined woman made her way to the office  
window.  
  
"Wait, Kiko-san.... What are you going to...?" Honeaki   
didn't have time to finish his question as she unlocked the window's  
bolts and threw it open, climbing up onto the ledge, Kaji got to   
his feet.  
  
"AOI! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GET DOWN FROM THERE!"  
  
"She's not getting away WITH MY SAILORSENSHI!!!!"  
  
And before the pair of them could do anything about it, Aoi   
leapt from the window with a cry, several storeys above the ground,  
and latched onto the legs of a passing Ami, still unconcious through  
all of this. The figure of the young woman, that was carrying her,  
turned to Aoi.  
  
"What do you think you're doing?"  
  
"Give her back to me! She's MINE!"  
  
"Are you CRAZY? I can't carry the both of you. You'll kill   
us all!" The figure began to throw herself around, trying to shake  
Aoi from her grip. It was to no avail, as Aoi crawled her way up   
Ami's legs and began to swing a fist at the figure's face, also to  
no avail.  
  
"You stupid woman! Let go!"  
  
"Give her back, bitch. She's MY sailorsenshi."  
  
Kaji and Honeaki watched with disbelief as Aoi continued to  
swing and punch at the near-invisible figure, whilst holding onto  
Ami like a limpet as they thrashed about in mid-air. Something,  
eventually had to give.  
  
"LET GO!" The figure tried sending arcs of energy through  
Ami once more. This only proceeded to make Aoi even angrier. The  
woman's eyes lit up.  
  
"GIVE HER BACK TO ME!" She took an almighty swing at the   
figure's face, and.... collected! Very solidly, in fact. The   
figure flashed into solidity and let out a dazed groan. Then the  
three of them headed for the ground.  
  
"AOI!" Kaji reached out of the window helplessly as the three  
plummeted. And then another thing happened that he didn't expect...  
They suddenly shot off sideways, at a great rate of knots. "AOI!"  
Kaji cried out.  
  
"KAJI! HELP ME!" Aoi reached back as the trio disappeared  
behind a neighbouring building. Kaji slammed his fist into the   
window ledge, turning to Honeaki.  
  
"I'm going after them. You stay here in case they return."  
  
"How? Are you going to leap out of the window, too?"  
  
"BAKA!" Kaji bapped him one over the head and ran from the  
office.  
  
----o  
  
"Well, we know she's not here, for one thing." Rumiko peered  
into the warehouse, sniffing. "But she was, at one stage. Strange  
smell, too."  
  
"Gone...." Keiko began to pace on her feet, looking   
impatient. "Bad."  
  
"Yes, this is VERY bad. In fact, a real bummer of a   
situation." Rumiko turned to Keiko. She was here not that long   
ago. I do wish Carey would hurry up and get that recovery team here  
on the double. This could get very messy."  
  
"Angel..." Keiko turned away from Rumiko, shaking her hands  
tensely, staring at the sky with a grimace on her face. Rumiko   
watched her and shook her head. She wasn't just afraid for Sherrie.  
In cases like this, she had serious concerns about whether Keiko had  
the ability to take care of herself.  
  
She sighed and turned away from the warehouse door, stepping   
up alongside Keiko, taking the girl by the arm. "It's okay, Keiko-  
chan. We'll find Sherrie."  
  
"Find." Keiko turned to her, still looking away. Rumiko   
smiled.  
  
"Yes, we will find her. One way or another."  
  
"Man." Rumiko blinked, not quite understanding what Keiko  
meant by that. Then she felt the hairs on the back of her neck   
stand up and she turned, looking up at the portion of the warehouse  
roof above them. All she could see was a large figure flying down  
towards them before she jumped, taking Keiko with her.  
  
  
The pair landed some small distance away, sprawled on the   
ground. Keiko let out a little gasp of protest as Rumiko quickly  
got to her feet, spinning around in a crouched position, staring at  
the figure who had landed in the spot they had been standing. She  
could feel the shockwave of air that rushed past, emanating from  
the vast bulk of the newcomer. Slowly, he looked up at them,   
smiling.  
  
"Hello, Sacred House girls." The sumo wrestler smiled.  
  
"Watanabe Nobuhiro!" Rumiko spat his name. "So, I was right.  
This was a trap set up by your good friend, Lacey...."  
  
"Should have listened to your intuition, neechan." He   
chuckled, cracking his knuckles. "We can't have you hurting or   
nabbing our partner, now can we?"  
  
"As it so happens, your partner is the furthest thing from our  
minds." She slowly got to her feet, Keiko following suit.  
  
"Not that there is much in the mind of your friend, there.   
Damn retarded bitch that she is."  
  
"What did you call her!?!" Rumiko was enraged.  
  
"Woman." Keiko looked up at the roof of the warehouse, where  
she could see another figure. For a second, Rumiko glanced at the  
figure, giving Nobuhiro his opportunity to charge them.  
  
Rumiko put up her hands, intent on creating a shield, but she  
was too slow. Nobuhiro plowed into her, knocking her back at least  
twenty feet. She collapsed onto the ground, dazed. Nobuhiro then  
swung on Keiko and grabbed the girl by the collar of her coat. He  
lifted the girl off the ground and pulled his other fist back,   
intending to pound her senseless, when he felt an itch within his  
head.  
  
Then Keiko screamed and he let her go, clutching his skull.  
"Argh! Get her out! Get her out of my HEAD!" Nobuhiro staggered  
back and fell to his knees as Keiko rose from the ground, her body  
surrounded by a glow of energy.  
  
"Nobuhiro!" Said the figure from above. The blond-haired  
young woman leapt from the roof and landed gracefully on the ground.  
Slowly, she stood and snapped her hands in front of her face,   
holding her forefingers up to her nose, and began to chant. An   
energy field surrounded her as Rumiko got to her feet.  
  
"Michelle Fitchner! Keiko, look out!" Rumiko charged   
forward, red sparkles of energy dancing around her hands as Michelle  
finished her chant.  
  
"ENERGY FORMATION!" Michelle cried out at the top of her   
voice, and pure beams of energy crackled between her and Keiko,   
stopped by Rumiko as she slid between them, forming a shield at that  
moment. The beams flew off at random, striking the warehouse and   
other buildings.  
  
Michelle looked up and let out a cry as portions of the   
warehouse toppled towards her. She jumped clear of them just in   
time. Rumiko used this opportunity to grab Keiko by the arm.  
  
"Come on! Run for it!"  
  
"Run." Keiko said simply, and dropped her attack on Nobuhiro,  
who continued to moan on the ground, holding his head with his   
hands. Both Rumiko and Keiko ran across the yard, trying to put as  
much space between them and the Coven duo.  
  
  
Michelle got to her feet and watched them go, shaking her   
head. She then ran over to Nobuhiro's side.  
  
"Nobuhiro-san... Are you okay?"  
  
"I'll... I'll be alright."  
  
"You shouldn't have tried Yokuro on like that. You know she  
has weirdling powers." Michelle helped Nobuhiro to his feet.  
  
"I should have layed her down first rather than the Tani girl.  
I wasn't thinking at the time."  
  
"No matter. We know they're here now, and we know they're   
after Pagan."  
  
Nobuhiro punched a fist into his other hand. "Then we can  
kill three birds with one stone." He smiled.  
  
  
END OF PART 13  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
DDFA ayanami@internode.on.net  
11th Apr 1998 


	14. SIU part 14: The Slightest Sound

S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page)  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Bandai and Kodansya. All  
other characters were thought up by me. Well, its true, isn't it?  
^_^  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
It had been a while since she had seen her native Earth.  
  
The young woman had traversed the tunnel between the two   
worlds, small as it was, and stepped out into a world that, only   
days ago, was rapidly degenerating into a fantasy.  
  
In her mind, anyway.  
  
  
Now it was real, again. And wet. She found herself standing  
atop a building in the centre of Tokyo city, being heavily rained   
upon. It had been a long time since she'd seen the rain.  
  
She didn't like it any more than she did when she left Earth.  
  
Or was forced to leave, which was more the truth of the   
situation. She could understand, now, why it had been so important  
for those within the Sacred House to be rid of her. She was as mad   
as hell at the time.  
  
Oh well, nothing to be done. She was back on Earth with   
complete control of her powers, ready to make a splash on the local  
halfling scene.  
  
She threw her hood over her head, and wrapped her cape around  
her form, to protect herself from the rain, and stepped up to the   
side of the roof, looking down upon the denizens of the city, below.  
  
She'd have to find new, more socially acceptable clothing.   
Black leather bondage gear with studs and fishnets may be haute   
coiture in the other world, but here it only invited offers of cash  
for work.  
  
No problem. All she had to do was find out what was in   
fashion, and she could remould her current gear to suit. Of course,  
what was in fashion wasn't always that socially acceptable, either.  
She giggled at the thought.  
  
  
She wasn't all that surprised when she saw three women fly   
past. Two clearly unconcious, and the third hysterical. Ah yes, it  
was good to be back on Earth.  
  
----o  
  
Part Fourteen  
The Slightest Sound  
  
----o  
  
Pagan was on the bottom of the channel, eating mud. He didn't  
see what it was that had hit him. He didn't expect to. What he'd   
hoped was that, being within the murky water of the wharf channel,   
he'd be shielded from the view of whatever it was Sherrie had   
become, and safe from the sonic blasts she was attacking him with.  
  
Not so, it would seem.  
  
Everything was pitch black. He didn't know how far down he'd  
been thrown by the wave, but it was pretty damn deep. All he could  
feel was sludge around him, and he couldn't even tell which way was  
up.  
  
He began to panic, thrashing about in the hope he'd find   
water. This was ineffective, and only proceeded to stir things up,  
making it likely that, if he did reach water, he wouldn't be able to  
see where he was, anyway.  
  
Stupid stupid stupid. How could he have let this happen? He  
had only wanted to play with Sherrie.... Lead her on as he'd always  
done. What had changed her, this time?  
  
He knew what changed. She hadn't taken her medication, the   
fool. Now it was likely that even the House would have to hunt her  
down. In the form she was now in, it was unlikely they were going   
to let her live.  
  
It was certainly impossible for them to administer medication.  
Especially when the subject in question had no physical form to   
speak of.  
  
Now he was probably going to die, stuck in the mud at the   
bottom of a filthy shipping channel. Talk about being born under a  
bad sign.  
  
"God, you ARE stupid, you know that?" He could hear the voice  
in his mind, but he couldn't place the owner.  
  
"Who...?" He replied, suffocation slowly taking hold of what   
little mental processing he had left.  
  
Everything went dark.  
  
----o  
  
Hotaru stared up into the sky as the three figures flew by,   
her jaw hanging with disbelief. She swore one of them was Ami.  
  
She shook her head. It had to have been her imagination. She  
continued on her way to the Hikawa Shrine.  
  
----o  
  
"She did WHAT?" Shimazaki stared at Kaji after the SIU   
officer had explained to he, Katarin and Kurabuto what had happened   
with Aoi, Ami and their mysterious kidnapper.  
  
Kurabuto, the chief of Major Crime, stood in the background  
of the office, shaking his head, as Watanabe Miki sat in a chair at  
Katarin's desk, looking every bit as guilty as she felt. Shimazaki  
turned on her.  
  
"You stupid COW! That girl came to give evidence into the   
murder of the Sailorsenshi, and you let Kiko-san just walk off with   
her?"  
  
"That's enough, Shimazaki!" Kurabuto stepped forward. "There  
is no point chewing her out about it. What's done is done."  
  
"But what are you doing to find them?" Kaji thumped   
Shimazaki's desk. "I don't really understand the full story, but I  
do know that this kidnapper may be a member of one of the groups   
that is after the Sailorsenshi."  
  
"On top of the SIU, you mean?" Katarin said, leaning against  
the wall, arms crossed.  
  
"The SIU is part of the police. We're charged with the job of  
finding and identifying them, as well as keeping a tab on all their  
activities."  
  
"Ah yes, but it would seem certain members of the SIU are keen  
on keeping the knowledge they have gained to themselves, in the hope  
that they will look REALLY good when they wrap up their   
investigations. Do I hear the word 'promotion' being bandied   
about?" Katarin sneered.  
  
"Easy for you to say." Kaji shot Katarin a contemptuous look.  
  
"Well, it may come as a surprise to you, but we did know   
something was up." Kurabuto sniffed as Kaji turned to him,   
questioningly.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"This morning, uniform had a call to a house in Juuban.   
Apparently the place had been trashed, much like your own SIU   
office. They gave us the name of the occupant. A Miss Kino Makoto.  
It seems our dear Kiko-san was looking up records of Kino Makoto  
earlier this morning. We put two and two together and decided she  
knew a hell of a lot more than she was telling us, so I had Katarin  
and Shimazaki follow her."  
  
"Didn't do a very good job." Kaji snorted.  
  
"No. No thanks to the office lady here." Shimazaki gestured  
to Miki, who sank even deeper into her chair.  
  
"That'll be enough of that." Kurabuto shot Shimazaki a look,  
then turned back to Kaji. "Whatever the case, there have been   
reports of three young women flying around all over town. We'll   
find them, sooner or later."  
  
Kurabuto's mobile phone rang, and he took it from his pocket,  
answering it. "Kurabuto." He paused, listening, his face turning  
grave. "I see. I'll be there immediately." He hung up, putting  
the phone away.  
  
"What is it?" Katarin looked at him.  
  
"The heart crystal taken from the dead sailor.... It's   
started to degenerate."  
  
----o  
  
Setsuna flashed into existence within a laneway between two  
shops. She staggered for a moment, holding her forehead.  
  
"Ow.... I'm getting too old for this kind of thing."  
  
Composing herself, she stepped out into the main street, just  
in time to see three figures float past in the sky. She watched   
them with disbelief until they disappeared.  
  
"Should have seen that coming." She mumbled to herself. She  
was sure one of them had been Ami. Shaking her head, she continued  
on her way....  
  
----o  
  
Usagi landed, face forward, on a carpeted floor. After a few  
moments of recovery, she sat up and rubbed her chin, staring at her  
new surroundings.  
  
She was in an apartment, and a small one at that. It was   
sparsely furnished, with nothing more than a lounge chair and a   
small television within the room she was in. At one end of the room  
were a pair of curtains, behind which were glass sliding doors which  
lead out onto a balcony.  
  
Lysithea was standing by the curtains, peering between them.   
Usagi huffed, crossing her arms.  
  
"Thankyou, Mister Gentleman, for helping me to my feet."  
  
"You're welcome." Lysithea said without turning. Usagi's   
cheeks puffed up with annoyance.  
  
"Where are we?"  
  
"An apartment in the Hakudusyo Towers which overlooks the   
Sacred House HQ compound. It's one of the watch houses the Coven   
has used over the years."  
  
"Is that what you're looking at?" Usagi got to her feet.  
  
"What else would I be looking at?" Lysithea turned. "Come  
here, have a look."  
  
Usagi sighed and stepped over to the crack in the curtain.  
Lysithea pointed between them. "That's it. You can't miss it for  
the world, considering its size."  
  
Usagi peered out. On the other side of the road that ran past  
the apartment building was a large, high-walled compound, within   
which were a collection of buildings, mostly interconnected. There  
were office towers and an odd assortment of architectural oddities.  
  
She turned back to him. "I've been past this place before.   
probably a dozen or so times. Never really thought about what was  
within. Always thought it was some manufacturing firm or research  
centre." She thought for a moment. "Wouldn't I, with my powers,   
have been able to detect the nature of this place?"  
  
"Don't see why you should break the habit of a lifetime and  
miss the blatantly obvious." Lysithea chuckled as Usagi huffed.  
  
"Alright, so we Sailorsenshi aren't perfect. I bet you didn't  
spot the Black Moon Circus tent, either."  
  
"Ah, the Black Moon Circus.... Have I told you, yet, about   
the time I met Tiger Eye at a dance club?"  
  
"I don't want to know." She snorted.  
  
"But it was really funny...."  
  
"I said I don't want to know." Sighing, she thumbed in the  
direction of the compound. "So, what is it about this place that  
stops you walking in by yourself, except for the mountains of   
security the place is likely to have, and how in hell am I supposed  
to help you?"  
  
Lysithea stepped away from the curtain. "It's very simple.  
They have a barrier around the compound, detectable only by those   
who are halflings like me. This barrier is generated by a device  
that emulates the biorhythms of my kind."  
  
"A kind of spirit energy machine?"  
  
"Kind of.... This device not only detects those with halfling  
energies, it can also attack those who are not permitted to enter   
its field."  
  
  
Usagi began to pace around. "So, what you're saying is that,  
this device is an artificial ghost.... A poltergeist...."  
  
"Well, that would be simplifying it, but yes, you can call it  
an artificial ghost."  
  
"So where do I come in?"  
  
"You aren't one of us. You're a fullblood human. Or, if you  
aren't, your energies are being suppressed or masked. This was why  
neither the Coven nor the House could detect your presence."  
  
"And being a fullblood human means my energy pattern is   
different?"  
  
"Indeed."  
  
"Which means this defence system won't recognise me as a   
threat? Clever. That means any old person who isn't one of your   
kind could walk in...."  
  
"What do you think the conventional security devices are for?  
And anyway, with the kinds of freaks they have in there, you   
wouldn't last long, anyway."  
  
Usagi facefaulted. "So how am I going to get you in?"  
  
"I do believe you have something called 'Sailor Teleport'....  
Something you've used, now and again."  
  
"Ah, that.... I've.... Only used it once or twice, on my   
own, that is. The rest of the time, I was aided by the others."   
She paused for a moment. "I'm not really confident about using it."  
  
"But, as you have said, you have used it, solo, on occasion."  
  
"I didn't really think about it at the time. And anyways,   
my... other personality had taken over at those stages...."  
  
"Other personality?" Lysithea frowned, then ohhhed when he   
picked up what she was saying. "You mean Serenity."  
  
"Yeah, her."  
  
"You mean you, of course?"  
  
"Yeah, me." Usagi scratched her head. "I have times when I  
wonder about the division between me and me."  
  
"Between one personality and the other? I don't think you  
should concern yourself about that. From my studies of you, I'd say  
there really is no division."  
  
"Yeah, but it's a pain, you know? Not knowing what to say or   
think in case I have a violent disagreement with myself...." Usagi  
paused. "Now I'm just being silly." She looked embarassed.  
  
  
Lysithea shrugged. "Well, we'll just have to risk it. After   
all, it is a case of life or death for you friend, Minako."  
  
Usagi nodded. "For Mina-chan.... I shall go through hell."  
  
Yes, thought Lysithea. You probably will.  
  
----o  
  
Minako dreamed of a store.  
  
It was a small store, set in an arcade, opposite a snack bar,  
and lined by a hair salon on one side and a bookshop on the other.  
  
It was also empty.  
  
There were nothing but boxes, full of miscellaneous items,   
sitting in piles within the shop, gathering dust and hidden from the  
public gaze by white lace curtains that hung over the large   
shopfront windows. Those curtain allowed a splendid view of what  
was going on outside, but the darkness within made them an   
impenetrable veil to the casual viewer.  
  
  
Minako dreamed she was sitting within that store, behind a   
small box, up against the rear wall near the counter where the cash  
register used to be. She was eight years old, and frightened.  
  
This store used to belong to her father. In fact, it still   
did, but his business, which had been founded here, had grown beyond  
the floorspace this store could provide.  
  
He had kept the shop as a storage space until he found a   
reasonable offer for it. But he never did, and the store slowly   
became a dust trap, ignored for years. Until the day young Aino   
Minako came visiting.  
  
  
She had been in trouble at school. Coming to the aid of a   
quiet girl who was being victimised by a group of bullies. The only  
thing the teacher who caught them had seen was Minako throttling one  
of the larger boys, his friends cowering with bloody noses.  
  
Her parents chewed her out for that, and sent her to her   
bedroom as punishment. In a fit of pique, she decided to run away,  
throwing what few posessions she had the time in a small bag, she  
clambered out of her window (not easy to do from the first storey)   
and took off for destinations unknown.  
  
And they really were destinations unknown, because eight year  
old Minako had absolutely NO idea where one could go to run away.   
So she decided to hide out in the old store, having been given a key  
to the place by her father when she first went to school. She would  
often walk to the shop rather than straight home as it was safer to  
go the rest of the way home with her father after work.  
  
  
And she was in that store for three days, surviving on   
chocolate bars, potato chips and orange juice, watching people walk  
by, and wondering if running away was such a good idea, after all.  
  
The shop was awfully cold at night. And the only person who  
would walk by was the arcade's security guard.... A scary, burly,  
unshaven man in his fourties.  
  
She was glad when she finally decided to pack it in and go   
home. So were her parents and the police. It was one less child   
they had to worry about, turning up mutilated in a pile of garbage  
bags....  
  
  
Strange, Minako thought, I feel quite warm at the moment.   
Surely the dream wasn't trawling up that sentimental a memory?  
  
She opened her eyes, and saw a soft yellow light, cast through  
a window that was set high above her. Very high.  
  
She sat up and stared blearily around. The room, apart from   
that light, was pitch black. In fact, it was the walls to the room,  
itself, that were black.  
  
The walls rose so high, she had to strain to see the ceiling.  
At least it wasn't cold in here. She hated the cold, ever since....  
Ever since she hid in that shop.... So many years ago.  
  
  
She listened, carefully. She could hear the sound of air   
conditioning. So soft, she shouldn't have been able to hear it, and  
yet it was as clear as a bell to her.  
  
It was then that she realised she had absolutely no idea where  
she was. She threw off the large, thick blanket that had been   
covering her and jumped off the single bed, dancing around for a few  
moments as the floor was rather colder than she expected.  
  
  
She looked down at what she was wearing. It looked like a   
hospital gown to her. Now what had happened? Maybe she'd hurt   
herself and was in hospital....  
  
But this certainly didn't look like a hospital room, and she   
certainly wasn't injured. The only discomfort she could feel was a  
slightly numb sensation in her left arm. She inspected it, but the  
light wasn't bright enough for her to be able to see if there was  
anything wrong.  
  
  
She stepped up to the wall and started to feel her way along.  
She went all the way around, and couldn't feel anything that was  
vaguely like a door. She began to panic, scratching at the wall for  
some vague crack which could be opened. All this achieved were sore  
fingers and cracked nails. One was even bleeding. She sucked on it  
as she walked back to the bed and sat down.  
  
"Ah, I see you are awake. Very good, very good." Minako   
turned as the figure of a tall caucasian man with white hair and   
white goatie beard, dressed in a dark suit and cape, stepped through  
the wall.  
  
"G.... GHOST!" Minako threw the blanket over her head as the  
man closed his eyes and sighed.  
  
"I'm afraid not, my dear. Just a little precautionary   
security device."  
  
Minako peered from underneath the blanket. "Security? From   
what?" She thought for a few moments. "Not from me, surely?"  
  
"Well, you could say that, in your current state, we aren't  
taking any precautions."  
  
"In my current state....? I'll have you know I'm as fit as a  
creek without a paddle.... I mean.... Whatever. Who are you? And  
where am I?"  
  
"Ah, before I introduce myself, perhaps you would be so kind   
as to tell me your name?"  
  
Minako threw the blanket aside and stood from the bed. "Aino.  
Aino Minako. And you?"  
  
"My name is Joachim Schneider. I am a member of a group,   
known as the Sacred House. We discovered you earlier today,   
assaulting a group of your friends at a coffee shop."  
  
"Oh Kami, this is a funny farm, right? I'm nuts, aren't I?"  
  
Joachim blinked a couple of times in surprise, then chuckled,  
shaking his head. "Whatever makes you think that?"  
  
"I haven't been myself lately. I've been doing strange   
things.... Thinking strange thoughts...."  
  
Joachim nodded. "All very likely, considering the condition  
you have."  
  
"I knew it. I have a condition. I'm a psycho. I'll be   
locked away in padded cells for the rest of my life, taking strange  
drugs and being made to undergo bizarre treatments involving vast  
quantities of electricity...." Minako began to pace around, pulling  
at her hair.  
  
"Now now, settle down. Nobody said you were mad."  
  
"You're just saying that to make me feel better. You are   
probably going to give me the spiel about how this is not an   
illness, and how it can be controlled and all that warm fuzzy crap."  
She began to sob. Joachim put a hand to his face, sighing.  
  
"Lord protect me from idiots." He put his hand down and   
stepped forward. "Listen, you do NOT have a psychological   
condition. All psychological effects you have experienced, and will  
continue to experience are a product of a condition of an entirely  
different form."  
  
Minako turned to him. "Well, that makes it alright then."   
She sniffed. "That doesn't explain what I'm doing here, or where  
here is...."  
  
"Well, this is our sanctuary. We study those who have   
recently undergone this condition, and attempt to bring it under   
control so they can be released back into society."  
  
"Just what is this condition, anyway? Is it some kind of   
genetic disorder?"  
  
Joachim chuckled. "You could say that, in a way. It is most  
certainly inherited. In which case, it might be a good idea if you  
can give us the names of your parents and their address, just in   
case."  
  
"Umm... Okay. If you have a piece of paper so I can write it  
down and all...."  
  
  
Joachim raised an eyebrow. This one was going to be easier to  
deal with than they had initially thought.  
  
----o  
  
There was nothing there.  
  
She had dived into the waters, only to find her quarry had   
vanished. Not just sank into the mud, but vanished altogether.  
  
She was not pleased. But there were others she could take in  
the vicinity.  
  
She growled, hungrily.  
  
----o  
  
They had managed to avoid almost every obstacle in their way,  
but eventually, they were going to HAVE to hit something, head on.  
  
The young woman who had only just returned to Earth watched   
from the top of yet another building as the three figures slammed   
into the side of the old records office building at close to thirty   
miles an hour, and fell fifteen feet to the ground, behind some   
bushes.  
  
Well, she thought, time to get to work. Help the local   
wildlife on your way to setting an idiot sister to rights.  
  
Mhaere Meehan snapped her fingers and vanished from sight.  
  
  
END OF PART 14  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
DDFA ayanami@internode.on.net  
  
  
23rd Apr 1998 


	15. SIU part 15: In the Lap of the Gods

S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page)  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Bandai and Kodansya. All  
other characters were thought up by me.  
  
Don't sue me for this, please. I'm not really a ripoff artist. I  
leave that to professionals, like Anya Romanov. ^_^  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The small room didn't look like it had been used in years,   
which was pretty much the case. Set in the basement of the Sacred  
House's compund, the room had, at one stage, been used to hide   
prisoner of war escapees from the Japanese military during the   
second world war. Since the Sacred house was intrinsically seen as  
a national institution, even under the militarist regime, nobody  
thought of looking there for them.  
  
The room had only received one major refurnishing, since. The  
total removal of all items of fittings and furniture. The room was   
a bare cement box, cold and dark.  
  
  
Then there was a flash of brilliant light and colour, and two  
figures emerged into the darkness. As the light faded away, Usagi,  
transformed as Eternal Sailormoon, tripped over her own feet and   
landed on the floor. Lysithea looked at her, blinking.  
  
"You really must learn to be more graceful in your activities,  
Sailormoon. You can't pretend to be the world's saviour and an   
uncoordinated idiot at the same time."  
  
"Thankyou for your kind words, and help up."  
  
Lysithea giggled and reached down. Usagi looked at the hand  
for a few moments, then took it, surprised at how strong the blond-  
haired man was as he heaved her to her feet.  
  
"Whoo..." Usagi said, looking at their surroundings, or, at   
least, what she could see of it. "They don't much believe in power   
bills here, do they?"  
  
"I believe we have teleported into the first basement of the  
main building." Lysithea looked around. "One of the storerooms,  
leading out into the research department."  
  
"The research department? Researching into what?"  
  
"Into things you don't want to know about. Things horrible   
enough to be the product of pure imagination."  
  
Usagi trembled, letting out a frightened little wail. "I can  
imagine quite a lot of horrible things. Let's go home."  
  
"Don't be silly. Besides, I doubt your imagination is  
developed enough to reach the standard of some of the things we're  
going to have to walk past." He gently put a hand on Usagi's   
shoulder. "Come on. We've places to go."  
  
"Like where? Where is the way out?" Usagi couldn't see very  
much in the darkness that bared a close resemblance to a door.   
Lysithea guided her to a segment of the wall.  
  
"Right here, my dear Sailormoon." He placed a hand on the   
wall, and gently pushed a panel open. Soft light shone through the  
opening, hurting Usagi's eyes, which had just become used to the   
gloom.  
  
"Well...." She gestured to the doorway. "After you."  
  
"No, my dear. Ladies first." Lysithea smiled. Usagi looked  
at him for a full ten seconds, shaking her head, then stepped   
through the opening.  
  
----o  
  
Part Fifteen  
In the Lap of the Gods  
  
----o  
  
They had almost made it to the other side of the factory yards  
when Rumiko could smell it. The bittersweet aroma of blood.  
  
Even Keiko seemed, in some strange way of her own, to know   
that there was something wrong. For the last two hundred feet, she  
had started to pull against Rumiko's guidance, making little noises  
from her throat. Rumiko would look back, occasionally, but Keiko   
was still staring at the sky with the same air of unbridled   
fascination she always seemed to carry.  
  
Rumiko wondered what the world must be like to Keiko. Removed  
from everything, yet so intrinsically hypersensitive to light and   
sound. They had to remove all fluorescent lights and air   
conditioning ducts within a fifty foot radius of her private   
quarters, back in the Sacred House HQ, because of the irritation of   
the noise both made to her ears. They then had to paint her room a  
calming shade of blue, removing the old yellow paintscheme, because  
yellow made her feel physically ill....  
  
It was a lot to do for one girl. But Keiko was a Yokuro, and  
they were an extremely powerful clan within the Sacred House.  
  
And if Keiko detected that something was wrong in the area,   
then something had to be REALLY wrong. Indeed, for there to be an  
aroma of blood in the air on a day where the rain would wash away  
just about anything meant that the blood was fresh.  
  
Someone or something had been killed in the area within the  
last five to ten minutes. Rumiko prayed it wasn't Sherrie.  
  
Ignoring the wetness the aroma engendered in her mouth, Rumiko  
started to drag Keiko towards the docking shed where the smell was  
emanating from. They reached about then feet from the building,   
when they were sprung upon by Watanabe Nobuhiro.... The large man,  
having leapt from one of the water towers.  
  
Both girls were knocked aside, Keiko into a small pit of sand  
that ran alongside the shed, and Rumiko through the shed's wooden   
doors, bringing them crashing down on top of her.  
  
Nobuhiro smiled and rubbed his hands together. He hadn't lost  
his touch in all these years of training. He'd spent much of his   
adult life, trying to perfect not only his strength, but also his   
bulk, and the combination of both in use. That was the craft of the  
sumo.  
  
But he was a hell of a lot better than most, because he   
combined them with his increased bestial energies. It was a pity  
that his quarry was nothing more than a pair of Sacred House girls.  
Now Joachim Schneider, there was a true challenge.... He would have  
rathered to take on the "old man" of the House than these two.  
  
Slowly, he stepped over to Keiko, who was rolling in the wet  
sandpit, running the sand between her fingers. Nobuhiro frowned as  
he watched her. She showed him no fear.... No sense of   
recognition. he might as well have not been there at all. In a   
way, it simultaneously killed his resolve and made him angrier. How  
dare this mere slip of a girl not recognise him as a threat? He   
clenched his fists.  
  
And then he smelt something. It was blood.... The smell of  
fresh blood, wafting over the scene. At first, he thought he might  
have mortally wounded Rumiko.... Caused her to be ripped open when  
she struck the door.... But this was not the blood of one, but the  
blood of many.  
  
He turned to the open doorway of the docking shed.  
  
The shredded bodies of over twenty lay strewn across the floor  
and crates within it, like the discarded dinner of some wild   
carnivore, blood and offal spread across the floor where they had   
been dragged. And in the middle of the shed, in full view,   
something, invisible to the naked eye, was eating one of the bodies,  
rending and tearing it apart with invisible claws and teeth.  
  
And it looked up at him, with eyes of a deep shade of green.  
  
----o  
  
Even in this wet weather, there was nothing as beautiful to   
the eyes of Shiranui Midan as a well-sculptured Japanese rock   
garden.  
  
He sat, looking out from the large open doorway of his private  
domain, onto the lit environs of the garden. Its vast size   
attesting to the man's great wealth. And so he should have been   
wealthy. Shiranui Midan was the inheritor of the position as head  
of the Shiranui Yakuza. He was also a board member of three major  
corporations.  
  
Things had not been going so well for the economy of Japan,   
lately, but Shiranui Midan was, as always, in a comfortable   
position. He had his fingers in more pies than could be traced.  
  
He looked out into the dim light of the dying day, darkened  
by the deep clouds that had plagued the city of Tokyo throughout the  
light hours. He wrapped his great bulk tightly in the long,   
ornamental kimono he would always wear, against the cold he never   
felt, and contemplated his garden.  
  
For what else, could a man who had done everything, do? Time  
slowly ticked away, and he watched his life go with it. He needed a  
new challenge. The approaching footsteps provided that challenge.  
  
The door to his left slid open, and a small, ageing man, dressed   
in a light business suit, stepped in, kneeling and bowing to   
his master.  
  
"What is it, Kuronbata?" Shiranui looked aside at him.   
Kuronbata lifted himself up and addressed him.  
  
"I have received word that the Mizuno girl has given herself  
in to the police in the hope of providing evidence against us."  
  
Shiranui grunted, and continued to look into his garden.   
Kuronbata waited patiently as his master thought things over.  
  
"Hmmm.... I think it is time that our two fine lovelies had  
a word with the good Doctor Mizuno." Shiranui said in his deep  
growl.  
  
"Sir.... Do you intend to place them in charge of this   
matter? We're still not sure whether we can trust them, yet."   
Kuronbata knew, immediately, that he had overstepped the mark  
as Shiranui slowly turned his head to face him. "I am sorry,  
sir. I am speculating out of place."  
  
"And it is good that you remember your place." Shiranui  
turned back to the garden. "I do not trust those two, either.  
But they have proved to be effective operatives for the family.  
I want to see how far I can stretch their loyalty."  
  
"And should they fail this... test?"  
  
"They will NOT fail the test, Kuronbata. Of that, you  
can be assured."  
  
"Yes sir." Kuronbata bowed. "Should I have you give them the  
order, personally, or shall I pass it on to them?"  
  
"I see no reason for them to disturb my musings. Be off with   
you." Shiranui waved him away, and Kuronbata bowed one last time,   
backing his way out of the room and sliding the door shut.  
  
  
Shiranui turned to the other side of the room, where there was  
another sliding door. "Are you quite finished, listening to my   
private conversations, Kimi?"  
  
The door slid open, and a young, attractive woman, dressed in   
an ornamental blue yukata, with long black hair, softly padded into  
the room. She was smiling.  
  
"Merely observing the master at work, father." She knelt down  
beside him and bowed slightly. He smiled and put a hand on her   
shoulder.  
  
"You shouldn't allow yourself to get too curious in a place   
like this, Kimi. Carelessly heard words can be dangerous."  
  
"I can take care of myself. I've lived this way all of my   
life. There is no gossip that escapes my ears."  
  
"And what gossip have you heard lately?"  
  
"Ah, nothing of any great interest, although, I do note, that  
that foreigner, Fitchner, has received an inadvertant call from his  
missing daughter."  
  
"Interesting. I wonder what Akizuki shall do to her when he  
gets an opportunity to speak with her." Shiranui rubbed his chin.  
  
"That is not all. I have been lead to believe that Guro has  
made moves to.... emancipate certain members of the family...."  
  
"Ah yes, Guro. I had almost forgotten about him."  
  
"Can I play with him, father? Please." Shiranui looked down  
into the warm, dark eyes of his daughter and smiled.  
  
"You are so much like your late mother."  
  
"Arigato." She said softly, and bowed slightly. She stood   
and backed from the room, sliding the door shut behind her.  
  
  
Shiranui pulled a small locket from his kimono and stared at  
it, smiling. "Yes, Kimi.... You are so very much like your late  
mother...." He sighed and stared out into the garden.  
  
----o  
  
Kaji watched as Shimazaki and Katarin left the office, on   
their way to pick up Doctor Mizuno from the hospital she worked at.  
He turned back to Kurabuto, who was having a quiet word to Miki,   
still seated in Katarin's deskchair, looking as if she'd just   
swallowed a barrel of poison.  
  
"Is it a good idea to let them pick her up without at least  
calling her hospital, first?"  
  
Kurabuto looked up at him. "I'd rather have the element of  
surprise in this case."  
  
"Yeah, but on what pretext are they going to haul her in?"  
  
Kurabuto sighed and stepped away from Miki, who was relieved  
at the momentary distraction. he wandered over to Shimazaki's desk,  
rubbing his mouth. "Well, you see, I thought, seeing as Kiko-san,  
wherever she is, has her hands on the woman's daughter, we could  
bring her in because we need a responsible relative to be present  
during an interview session...."  
  
"But both Kiko-san and the Mizuno girl are Kami knows where."  
  
"Indeed they are, but we shall find them, never worry."  
  
"No, of course not. Why should I worry?" Kaji leaned against  
Shimazaki's desk, crossing his arms cynically. Kurabuto sighed.   
"So, what are you going to do with her?"  
  
"Who? Doctor Mizuno?"  
  
"No, Kiko-san.... And Watanabe-san...."  
  
"Well, what they've done represents a breach in police   
procedure. They're going to have to be reprimanded for their   
actions."  
  
Just at that point, Miki chose to break into tears. Kurabuto  
closed his eyes and turned to her. "A MINOR reprimand in your case,  
Watanabe."  
  
"Oh, and that just makes everything so much better." She put  
her face in her hands and began to sob.  
  
"Don't be so rough on her." Kaji reached over the desk and   
prodded Kurabuto. "She's only a young-un." Kurabuto rounded on   
him.  
  
"I don't need you telling me my business, Akunatsuka. She's  
broken the rules, and now she has to pay...." Kurabuto's mobile  
phone began to chime, and he lifted it from his pocket. "Hello?  
Hmm? I see. I'll be there in a few moments." He switched it off,  
replacing it. "The heart crystal is still degenerating. I'd like  
to see this for myself. You want to come?"  
  
Kaji shrugged and nodded.  
  
"Very well." Kurabuto paused and looked back at Miki. "You  
might as well come too. At least you'll be getting something unique  
out of all of this."  
  
----o  
  
Usagi and Lysithea crept along the small and dimly-lit   
corridor they had found themselves. Usagi stopped as they reached  
an open double doorway, and peered in.  
  
"They obviously haven't used this part of the building for   
quite a while." Lysithea smiled. "We were lucky your teleport   
chose to stop where it did."  
  
"Where does this lead to?" Usagi pointed through the doorway.  
Lysithea looked in. All either of them could see were a series of  
large glass cases.  
  
"That's the research office, or at least part of it. This is   
where we have to go."  
  
"Where are we going to, precisely?"  
  
"Me, Operations control. Your destination is the arrivals   
department, not too far from here." He looked at her, gravely. "Be  
extremely careful where you put your foot in here.... You don't   
know what you'll come face to face with."  
  
"Thanks for the encouraging words." Usagi shivered. "Oh   
well. On with the show, as they say." She stepped through the   
doorway and made her way into the laboratory beyond. Lysithea   
paused for a few moments, then followed.  
  
----o  
  
Carey West sat at her desk, watching a computer readout of   
information, gathered from the Sacred House's records, on the life   
history and family of one Aino Minako, provided thanks to the girl's   
utter gullibility....   
  
She still boggled at her guilessness as she wrote down the   
answer to every question Joachim had asked her. She had to have   
been disoriented after her becoming and eventual receiving of a   
dosage of Vasculin. Surely, nobody could have been that stupid.  
  
"Ma'am...." Her intercom buzzed. She hit the button on the   
small box, set on her desk, and answered it.  
  
"Yes, Eiko?"  
  
"There has been a small, unregistered pulse signal within the   
grounds of the compound. Should we have the security program track  
it down?"  
  
"Yes. Do it immediately." She let the button go, turning   
back to the readout.  
  
  
Of course, Minako didn't show any signs of being concerned   
about her captivity. This openness allowed a full spectrum analysis   
to be performed on her, thus confirming Carey's suspicions.  
  
The girl was, indeed, a Sailorsenshi. Pity it took having to   
capture one to get the kind of data they now had in their posession.  
Of course, it is practically impossible to do a city-wide spectrum   
sweep to detect any more of them, so it was all pretty much moot   
until they found themselves another. Considering how long it took   
them to find this one, that might be a while.  
  
Nor was it likely that she would be able to read the girl's  
mind. Blocks had been placed, ones that the girl herself could not  
have been responsible for. Carey wondered who was, but not for very  
long. She already had her suspicions.  
  
  
She leaned back and stared at the dark corners of the ceiling.  
Of all of those who had been, recently, inducted into the Sacred   
House, she had risen to the highest office of authority. Naturally,  
considering the rather unique nature of her breeding, she would be   
far more trusted with the position. However, it had come at a   
price. Rising to this position meant that she was more within the   
scrutiny of the High Council than anyone else her age.  
  
They wanted to make sure she didn't run off the rails. Not   
that that was likely to happen, she had always prided herself on her  
self-control. But the last time one of her kind ran off the   
rails.... Thousands of years ago.... Two ancient towns destroyed,  
now recounted as nothing more than a myth....  
  
Of course, scrutiny was one thing. Actually knowing was   
another....  
  
  
A thought flashed across her mind, and she sat up, closing her  
eyes for a moment. She shook her head. Not again. Not her, not   
again. She should have seen it coming.  
  
She did see it coming. Just then.  
  
Carey got to her feet and stepped away from her desk. She   
paused, turning to the readout for a few moments.... No, what she   
saw was too important to let slide. She continued on her way,   
leaving the office.  
  
----o  
  
Minako stared at the blaring images on the television screen.  
It was a full widescreen digital television, the likes of which   
Minako knew she'd never own. It had all the local stations,   
satellite and cable, as well as a few underground networks from   
around the globe.  
  
She felt awfully strange. Something in her head wasn't quite  
right, and she wanted to know what. And yet.... She couldn't take  
her eyes away from the pretty pictures.... They danced and pranced  
and dazzled her. She scratched the sore red mark on the inside of  
her left arm.  
  
She'd requested a television when they'd asked if she wanted  
anything. She didn't expect something of this magnitude. At first,  
she watched it from the relative safety of her bed. But as time   
went on, she found herself slowly sliding down the side, leaning   
against the mattress support.  
  
She wiped drool from the side of her mouth. Yes indeed, she  
was feeling altogether out of sorts, today.  
  
----o  
  
Joachim and Gen watched Minako on the video monitor from the  
comfort of the theatre's viewing room. Naoko and Jacquie were   
sitting behind them, Naoko leaning over her father's shoulder.  
  
"I see the Vasculin is starting to take an early effect."  
  
"Indeed. She'll be feeling pretty woozy for a while." Gen  
smiled. "Vasculin is evil stuff when you first take it. Leaves  
you feeling totally disoriented and confused."  
  
"About the only benefit of the stuff is that you aren't given  
time to worry about your predicament. You're too busy fascinating  
over the pretty colours in a speck of dandruff." Naoko giggled.  
  
"What was the level of her bestial index when you encountered  
her in the coffee shop?" Joachim turned to Naoko and Jacquie.  
  
"Pretty high, by the looks of things. I'd say she was   
Succubae Major.... Although this is only speculation on my part."  
  
"Succubae Major.... We haven't had one of those in here for a  
long time." Gen chuckled. "A Deep-Core Bestial, with a high   
Vasculin Dependency Ratio. I wonder how she managed to resist her  
becoming all this time?"  
  
"Her powers as a Sailorsenshi may have had something to do   
with it.... Masking her becoming during early puberty." Joachim  
leaned forward. "You see the gilden tinge to her hair. Extremely  
rare in someone who is Japanese."  
  
"Lighter hair tones are becoming more common these days,   
however." Gen pointed out.  
  
"Indeed, but this one is unnaturally gold. Definitely a sign  
of her pedigree." Joachim leaned back again. "However, she doesn't  
exhibit great signs of lower-order intellect."  
  
"You mean common sense?" Jacquie quizzed. Joachim nodded.  
  
"Indeed. Whilst she appears to have the capacity to process  
great amounts of information, she does so in a very haphazard   
manner. She has a tendency to mix her metaphors and not think twice   
about it, afterwards, surely a sign of an intellectual condition."  
  
"A lazy mind, Joachim. Must you always see things in   
technical terms?" Gen looked over at his old friend. Joachim   
shrugged.  
  
"In my profession, there is no such thing as a 'lazy mind',   
merely a combination of conditions and disorders, leading to a   
disfunction in intellectual processes."  
  
"In other words, a lazy mind." Naoko giggled. Joachim   
smiled, putting out his hands.  
  
"You're too good for me, Naoko-chan."  
  
  
"Joachim...." Gen rubbed his chin. "One of these days,   
you're going to see people as human beings, rather than something to  
study."  
  
"Ah, and what a fascinating subject to study it is." Joachim  
replied, watching the viewscreen as Minako began to pat the   
television she was watching.  
  
----o  
  
Aoi had died and gone to Heaven.  
  
She danced and pranced through the gardens of cigarette bushes  
and coffee trees, wondering if life could get any better than this.   
Of course, this couldn't be real, so she had to be dead. Nothing   
else could explain the sheer beauty of this place.  
  
The warm sun. the blue skies. The aroma of burning tobacco   
and freshly brewed caffeine. Ah yes, there was nothing like it.  
  
"Excuse me." She felt someone shaking her shoulder.  
  
"Go away." She said, softly, in a daze. "Leave me with my  
cigarettes." She pulled one off a bush and drew on the end,   
allowing the superfragrant smoke to enter her lungs. The taste,  
and its effect on her, was like nothing she'd ever experienced  
before.  
  
"Look, I know you might find cloud nine a pleasant place to  
be after smacking into a brick wall at close to thirty miles an  
hour, but sleeping in a muddy puddle is not the best place to get  
there." The annoying voice continued. For a moment, Aoi considered  
turning around and poking the cigarette in the person's face.  
  
"Leave me alone...."  
  
"I can't. There are a couple of young women in a bad way,   
here, and you're the only person in a sufficiently healthy state  
who is benevolently acquainted with them. Maybe"  
  
Aoi turned and looked up at the face of the young woman with  
wavy red hair. Her light face contrasted starkly with the darkening   
skies. She blinked a couple of times and wiped her sweaty face.   
Only it wasn't sweat she was wiping away.  
  
She stared at the blood on the palm of her hand for a few   
moments. "I'm...." She began, with encroaching panic. "I'm..."  
  
  
END OF PART 15  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Next Chapter - "The Break of Dusk"  
  
DDFA ayanami@internode.on.net  
  
  
Version 1.0 - 5th May 1998 


	16. SIU part 16: The Break of Dusk

S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page)  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Bandai and Kodansya. All  
other characters were thought up by me.  
  
Don't sue me for this, please. I'm not really a ripoff artist. I  
leave that to professionals, like Anya Romanov. ^_^  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Yep, things certainly seemed to be getting out of hand, here.  
  
Arisa looked down upon the scene. Watanabe Nobuhiro standing,  
staring into the docking shed, Keiko lying in a pit of sand, playing  
with the wet and sodden mixture in her hands, and Rumiko lying   
underneath a stack of splintered wooden boards that once used to be  
a pair of doors.  
  
On top of that, somwhere around twenty dock workers were   
spread throughout the docking shed, having fallen victim to the   
creature Sherrie had become. Arisa shivered. She couldn't see the  
creature, only a distant outline of something tearing its way   
through the body of one of the dockworkers. A couple of times, it  
would turn and look a Nobuhiro, as if saying "you're next", but   
obviously whoever it was eating had a good flavour....  
  
Arisa chided herself for that thought. She turned and looked  
over the other side of the water tower. Nobuhiro certainly wasn't  
going to get any help from his partner, Michelle Fitchner. Maria  
and the members of Team Three had dealt with her. Not permanently,  
of course, they just knocked her one over the noggin as she vainly  
tried to follow Nobuhiro's pace. Funny that someone so big should   
be so quick on his feet. Well, that was the Other blood for you.  
  
She lifted up her transceiver. "Looks like everything's as  
messy as I expected it to be. Gonna be a media circus when someone  
spots this little charnal house...."  
  
"Great...." Maria's voice crackled over the speaker. "Are  
you ready to release her?"  
  
"On it now..." Arisa put the transceiver aside and clasped   
her hands together, mouthing an incantation.  
  
----o  
  
Aoi had died and gone to Heaven.  
  
She danced and pranced through the gardens of cigarette bushes  
and coffee trees, wondering if life could get any better than this.   
Of course, this couldn't be real, so she had to be dead. Nothing   
else could explain the sheer beauty of this place.  
  
The warm sun. the blue skies. The aroma of burning tobacco   
and freshly brewed caffeine. Ah yes, there was nothing like it.  
  
"Excuse me." She felt someone shaking her shoulder.  
  
"Go away." She said, softly, in a daze. "Leave me with my  
cigarettes." She pulled one off a bush and drew on the end,   
allowing the superfragrant smoke to enter her lungs. The taste,  
and its effect on her, was like nothing she'd ever experienced  
before.  
  
"Look, I know you might find cloud nine a pleasant place to  
be after smacking into a brick wall at close to thirty miles an  
hour, but sleeping in a muddy puddle is not the best place to get  
there." The annoying voice continued. For a moment, Aoi considered  
turning around and poking the cigarette in the person's face.  
  
"Leave me alone...."  
  
"I can't. There are a couple of young women in a bad way,   
here, and you're the only person in a sufficiently healthy state  
who is benevolently acquainted with them. Maybe"  
  
Aoi turned and looked up at the face of the young woman with  
wavy red hair. Her light face contrasted starkly with the darkening   
skies. She blinked a couple of times and wiped her sweaty face.   
Only it wasn't sweat she was wiping away.  
  
She stared at the blood on the palm of her hand for a few   
moments. "I'm...." She began, with encroaching panic. "I'm..."  
  
----o  
  
Part Sixteen  
The Break of Dusk  
  
----o  
  
"It's just a shallow cut on your forehead. Nothing to be  
overly concerned about. Of course, if you've got concussion, that   
can be a problem. But it isn't very likely, since you had a couple   
of girls to soften your impact." The young woman offered Aoi a   
hand. Aoi took it, groggily, and was helped to her feet.  
  
  
She heard the sound of water running off something, and looked  
down at her clothes. "Aww shit. I'm all...." She turned up her   
nose at the mud and filth that was plastered all over her skirt and   
jacket. She had been, as the young woman had said, lying in a muddy   
puddle. "This was such a good suit, too."  
  
"Never mind your bloody clothes." The young woman said,   
holding onto Aoi's arm. "How are you feeling?"  
  
"A bit dizzy, but I suppose I'm alright." Aoi turned to the  
young woman. She was dressed in a thick black coat, which covered  
over a black shirt, skirt and boots. The first thing that entered  
Aoi's mind was.... "Who are you?"  
  
"Hmm? Me? Oh, just your average, everyday magic user who  
happened to be passing by and saw you and this pair fly into this  
wall, here." The young woman first gestured to the still forms of  
Ami and the blond-haired girl who had tried to kidnap her, then to  
the wall that they had struck. Aoi looked up at the wall, blinking.  
  
"Shit.... The old government records office...." She turned  
back to the two forms on the ground.  
  
The blond-haired girl was looking frightfully pale, her simple   
dress covered in mud. But Ami looked worse. Lying on her front,   
there was blood running from her nose and mouth. Even her ears.   
Aoi stepped over to Ami's side, aided by the young woman, not even   
batting an eyelid to her 'magic user' comment. She'd seen and heard   
too much today to let something like that distract her.  
  
She kneeled down and put a hand to the side of Ami's throat,  
checking for a pulse. "Well, she's alive. I can say that, at   
least."  
  
"For how much longer, though? She looks in a bad way."  
  
"It's a haemhorrage. I'd say she hit the wall, face-forward,  
and split the mucas membranes." Aoi gently ran a finger along the  
back of Ami's neck, from the base of the skull, running down her   
back. "I don't think she's got any vertebral damage, but she's   
going to need medical attention, and quickly. The haemhorrage could  
be worse internally.... The last thing I need is to have my   
sailorsenshi die of brain damage caused by an intracranial   
haemhorrage."  
  
"Your Sailorsenshi?" The young woman frowned, then shrugged.  
"What about the other one?"  
  
"What about her?" Aoi turned to her.  
  
"Doesn't she rate a mention, or something?"  
  
"Hardly. She tried to kidnap this girl. She can die, for all  
I care." The young woman seemed genuinely surprised by Aoi's   
comments.  
  
"Doesn't life hold any value to you?"  
  
"My life holds value to me. But that's about all, really."   
She paused for a few moments. "Oh, and Ami's life, of course."  
  
"Ami?"  
  
"Yes, this girl here." She pointed. "She is my ticket out of  
the SIU and into a better posting."  
  
"I don't understand." The young woman shook her head.  
  
"Hmm.... My name's Kikotsuka Aoi. I'm a member of the   
Metropolitan Police. Part of the Sailor Investigation Unit office.  
It's my job to investigate the activities of bitches like her." She  
nodded to Ami. "And she is the first one I've ever caught. The   
last thing I need is for her to die." Aoi began to fumble through   
the waterlogged pockets of her jacket.  
  
"So the only reason her life has any value is because she is   
important to your promotional prospects?"  
  
"Of course. Should there be another reason?" Aoi huffed.   
"Who are you, anyway?"  
  
The young woman sighed. "My name is Meehan. Mhaere Meehan.  
I'm a visitor to Tokyo, and an ex-member of a group called the   
Sacred House. Although, considering you were using a form of magic   
just now, you'd already be acquainted with them."  
  
"The Sacred House?" Aoi looked at her, closely. "You're not  
involved with...."  
  
"I said ex-member. They.... had me put away, for some time."  
  
"I see." Aoi looked down at the other girl. "And what about  
her? Do you know who she is?"  
  
"Her name is Gwen Wright. She is a member of the Sacred   
House." Mhaere paused. "An intelligence gatherer and stealth   
operative."  
  
----o  
  
The large glass containers were like the display cabinets one  
would find in a museum. And Usagi wasn't too keen on what they were  
displaying.  
  
Dead human bodies. At least, most of them looked human. In   
truth, the majority of them were warped and mutated, some beyond   
recognition. And they had all been perfectly preserved upon the  
moment of their deaths.  
  
"What are they all?" Usagi felt ill as she passed by the   
naked figure of a six year old girl with the head of an arachnid,  
resplendant with her eight eyes and large mandibles. Usagi was  
happy she was dead. "Where in hell did all these.... these   
people... things come from?"  
  
"Hell would be a pretty good place to start." Lysithea   
touched the glass of one of the displays. "This is what happens  
when the mixing of human and other blood goes wrong."  
  
"Mixing of human and other blood?"  
  
"Yes. The Others were a race of beings for whom magic was a  
natural form of defence in their world. As common as the elements  
themselves. They came to Earth many thousands of years ago, and   
interbred with human beings. When this breeding went right, it   
created magic users like myself. But when it went wrong...." He  
gestured to the cabinets. "I'd say a great many of these died by  
natural causes. The Sacred House would have been caring for them  
until their deformitites grew too grievous for them to be   
sustained."  
  
"These.... poor people...." Usagi felt a sense of sadness,  
despite the horror of what was before her.  
  
"Poor, yes. But also dangerous. They couldn't be allowed to  
exist in the outside world. Not only would people reject them, they  
would also give in to their darker desires...." He touched the   
glass again, staring at a man who was half-feline.  
  
"They are carnivorous...." Usagi frowned. "I thought you   
said the Sacred House was an evil organisation."  
  
"Hmm?" Lysithea turned to her. "They are. Why do you ask?"  
  
"What are they doing, looking after people like these?"  
  
Lysithea shrugged. "Taking care of their own, I suppose."  
  
Usagi frowned and watched as Lysithea continued on, along the   
pathway between the displays. Giving the arachnid-girl one last  
glance, she continued on.  
  
----o  
  
Doctor Mizuno sat in her office, rubbing her forehead as she  
filled out notes on one of her patients by hand. It would have been  
quicker to do it by computer, but she had a love-hate relationship  
with the infernal machines, and left the transcribing of the notes  
to the clerical staff.  
  
They didn't all love her for it, either.  
  
For some reason, she found it difficult to concentrate.   
Things were running through her mind at a breakneck speed, and not  
the things she should have been concentrating on.  
  
How did she get herself into this mess? How did she allow  
herself to be used in this manner? What they made her do... it   
was... Wrong. It was so, so wrong. But they threatened Ami. She  
would do anything to protect her child.... Anything....  
  
But why did it have to be that? Why did it have to be....  
  
  
She tried to compose herself. She'd started to write rubbish   
all over the page. She looked at her hand, and realised it was   
shaking. She dropped the pen and took hold of her hand. A cold   
sweat ran down her forehead....  
  
A drink! That was what she needed. She reached into the top  
drawer of her desk and pulled out a small bottle and a glass. The  
bottle was half empty. She'd used it just a little too often,   
lately.  
  
Slowly, she opened the cap and poured some of its contents   
into the glass.... She swigged the fluid down, screwing up her   
face. It was all to save Ami. She was justified in doing what she  
did. They had threatened her child....  
  
  
There was a knock on the door to her office, and she swung   
around, putting on a calm expression. "Haiii...."  
  
The door opened and her secretary peered into the office.   
"There are a couple of young women here to see you, Doctor."  
  
"Young women?" Her blood ran cold.  
  
"Yes, they said you were expecting them." The secretary   
opened the door wide and allowed the two young women into the   
office.  
  
"Hello there, Doc." Said the taller one. "Long time no see,  
eh?"  
  
Doctor Mizuno wanted to scream.  
  
----o  
  
Setsuna moved through the hallway like a hunted animal, having   
leapt from the open grille of the air conditioning unit, set high   
in the wall. She hated using such uncouth methods of entry and   
traversal. It would have been much easier to have transported   
herself in, but that risked early detection.  
  
She knew, sooner or later, that someone would come looking for   
her. She'd never been through the Sacred House Compound without   
causing some distress to the locals. It was only a matter of when   
they woke up to her presence. But she wasn't going to afford   
herself the luxury of caution. Her mission was of utmost importance   
to her.  
  
  
Regardless of what the others felt about her motives and   
actions, she remained the most loyal of her Princess's servants.   
She had never done anything, in her incomphrehensibly long   
existence, that wasn't related in some form or another to the   
servitude of her position. And upon the downfall of the Kingdom,  
its incipient recreation.  
  
Her Princess was in danger. She knew Lysithea Caprice better  
than anyone, even Lysithea himself. She knew who he had been, in a  
previous existence. That didn't change the person he was, today.   
Lysithea was in the presence of her Princess, and that was enough to  
drive Setsuna to consider his execution....  
  
Not that she wanted to kill him. She slipped into the   
shadows, behind one of the columns that lined the vast hallway. She  
stared up at the ceiling, impressed with the plaster motifs that had  
been moulded there by the artisans who designed the Central Hall of  
the Sacred House. By some divine providence, the Hall had survived  
the firebombing of Tokyo in the Second World War. It was one of the  
very few large buildings that had.  
  
She sighed. Lysithea.... There were things that she had   
shared with him.... Things that nobody else knew.... that nobody   
else would get an oppotunity to know. Why did it always come down   
to this? Why were they always being made to fight, to kill, those  
who had once been their allies?  
  
Simple. Nobody can hurt you as badly as someone you have   
allowed yourself to get close to. Setsuna should have known, back   
then, the kind of person Lysithea would become. But love has a   
tendency to make you blind.... And there are times when you feel   
the greatest attraction.... to those who are totally unlike you.  
  
She also should have known he was not to be the kind of person  
to reciprocate her affections. She should have seen it, in the way   
he talked and carried himself.... He was not a ladies man, and very  
obviously so, but.... he was just so damned PRETTY.  
  
"Hello, Setsuna." She almost jumped at the soft, silky voice,  
whispered across her shoulder. She turned to come face to face with  
the last person on the Earth she wanted to see, right now.  
  
"Konbanwa, West-san." Her expression oozed contempt.  
  
Carey smiled.  
  
----o  
  
"Hmm.... I expected as much." Aoi watched as Mhaere knelt   
down beside Gwen, checking her pulse. "I knew she had to have been   
with one of these psycho groups that are after the Sailorsenshi.   
Well, I've had enough warning about them, anyway."  
  
"Hmm...." Mhaere said, not really listening.  
  
"Is she alive?"  
  
"Yes. And not in as bad a shape as the other girl, I'd say.   
Gwen was always a resilient one."  
  
Aoi looked around, noticing they were behind a series of thick  
bushes, blocking their presence from any casual viewer. She felt   
the occasional sprinkle of rain on her head and looked up at the   
darkening sky.  
  
She reached into the pocket of her muddied jacket, feeling   
around for her mobile phone. What she pulled out was a half-  
shattered, half soaked piece of mangled plastic and wires.  
  
"Oh well, that takes care of that."  
  
"What?" Mhaere looked up at her. Aoi showed her the phone.  
"We're going to have to use a public phone to call an ambulance."  
  
"What do you want to call an ambulance for? I've already   
found someone capable of healing this pair."  
  
"Who?" Aoi frowned. "Wait a minute.... What do you mean by  
'healing', precisely?"  
  
"Exactly how it sounds. Someone with healing powers."  
  
"Ano...." Aoi scratched her soaked hair with a muddy hand.  
"Where would someone find a person like that?"  
  
"You'll be surprised." Mhaere smiled, and snapped her   
fingers. All four disappeared into thin air.  
  
----o  
  
Shimazaki sighed as the traffic crawled along the expressway.  
he turned to Katarin, who was driving, tapping his fingers on the  
steering wheel.  
  
"I knew it was a bad idea, coming this way during the rush  
hour." Shimazaki sighed in frustration. Katarin looked aside at  
him.  
  
"She won't be going anywhere. Just be patient."  
  
"How do you know? She might be on her way home right now."  
  
"She isn't on her way home." Katarin continued to tap his   
hands on the steering wheel, and now started to whistle a soft tune.  
Shimazaki stared at him, nonplussed, then shook his head, switching  
on the radio.  
  
"You know, I hate having the radio on when I'm driving."   
Katarin growled. Shimazaki looked away.  
  
"Anything's better than listening to your performance."  
  
----o  
  
"And how can I help you, Meiou-san?" Carey sneered as she   
stepped around Setsuna's form. The elder senshi didn't take her eye  
off the white-haired woman for a single moment.  
  
"Help me?" Setsuna raised an eyebrow, trying to hide her   
amusement. "Since when have you ever tried to help me?"  
  
"You wouldn't come here for any other reason, now would you?"  
Carey shrugged, stopping in the middle of the hallway, hands in   
pockets.  
  
"I am here for a very specific reason. I'm sure you know   
what."  
  
"No, actually, I don't. Care to enlighten me?" Carey shook   
her head, her mouth extending into a wide smile. Setsuna hated   
Carey's smile. It never carried anything remotely like warmth. But  
then, Carey had never been the warmest of individuals. At least not  
around her.  
  
"Use your imagination, West-san.... Oh, I'm sorry.... You   
don't have one. I should have remembered." That wiped the smile   
off the bitch's face, giving Setsuna a few moments of pleasure.  
  
"Well, let's see.... It has something.... to do.... with your  
Princess. Am I right?" Carey stepped forward, stopping in front of  
Setsuna. The elder senshi said nothing. Carey continued. "She is   
here, somewhere, within the bounds of the Sacred House Compound, in   
the presence of someone who is a threat to her life."  
  
"If you know that much, why haven't you done anything about   
it?" Setsuna sniffed. Carey stared into her eyes for a few   
moments, making Setsuna feeling uncomfortable. "What?"  
  
"Why do you try and hide their identities from me? Whenever  
we've met, you put the walls up in your mind."  
  
"Because I know the kind of person you are. The kind of   
person you REALLY are. They don't. To allow the likes of you into  
their lives is something I'll never be able to forgive myself for."  
"Do you really think that lowly of me?" Carey sneered once   
more. "I'm not really that bad a person, you know. Once you get to  
know me."  
  
"I do know you. You won't be able to discover the identities  
of the Sailorsenshi from me."  
  
"But you beloved Princess, I dare suggest, won't have the   
fortitude of mind, will she?"  
  
  
Setsuna shivered for a moment, then composed herself. "You  
might find it more to your advantage to ignore my Princess and deal  
with a more immediate danger to your own person."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Lysithea Caprice."  
  
Carey's eyes opened wide with surprise. "Lysithea.... Now  
there is a name I have not heard in a long time."  
  
"I'm quite sure you'll get rapidly reacquainted. He's here,  
with MY Princess, in the Sacred House."  
  
"Ah. I see." Setsuna was surprised by Carey's cool reaction.  
She was expecting a little more.  
  
"You seem somewhat less than awed by this news."  
  
"Your perception only. I am, naturally, somewhat disturbed to  
think that he is in here, somewhere, whilst I have been walking   
about unawares. But apart from that...." Carey paused.  
  
"Apart from that?" Setsuna looked at her, quizzically.  
  
"Apart from that, there isn't much he can do with me if he   
were to find me. Except kill me, of course. There is always that  
option."  
  
"One I'm sure he'd not be too keen to indulge, considering his  
motives for coming here."  
  
"I take it he used your Princess's powers to get through the   
Security?"  
  
"What else would he be with her for?"  
  
"Interesting. I wonder why he hasn't thought of doing this   
before?" Carey put a hand to her chin. Setsuna shrugged.  
  
"My guess is he's been biding his time."  
  
"For what reason?"  
  
"Preparations."  
  
"Ah. Yes, of course. I forgot about that. It won't do him  
any good, though."  
  
Setsuna blinked, surprised. "Why? What do you mean?"  
  
Carey smiled wagging a finger in Setsuna's face and clicking  
her tongue. "Oh Meiou-san.... Honestly." Carey stepped away,   
staring into space. "To achieve what he wants to achieve, he needs  
two of our kind.... One Bestial and one Ethereal. He can only have  
one, now."  
  
"You mean you've...." Setsuna frowned, then shook her head.   
"I didn't think you'd go through with an elaborate plan of that   
kind."  
  
Carey chuckled. "In a few minutes, there won't be a Bestial   
on the face of the Earth capable of matching his requirements."  
  
----o  
  
It seemed as if the creature had tired of its meal. Slowly,   
it started to pace over to where Nobuhiro was standing, transfixed  
by the scene. It even stomped over the wooden boards which Rumiko  
was lying under. Well, thought Arisa, as she continued her   
incantation, there was one good aspect to being bowled over in such   
a fashion....  
  
Then the creature made a deep-throated cackling sound, and   
made to pounce. Arisa could see its outline crouching. AT that   
moment, she ended her incantation. "RELEASE!" She cried at the  
top of her voice.  
  
There was an explosion of light, and the creature's form came  
into full view as waves of magical energy struck it from the side.  
It turned to see a glowing figure stand up. Nobuhiro, stunned by   
this turn of events, fell onto his rump, wide-eyed.  
  
The creature shivered, its bestial growl forming a word....  
  
"Kei....ko...."  
  
Yokuro Keiko stood tall, holding her hands before her in a  
praying stance.  
  
"Now, Sherrie..." She said in a voice that echoed across the  
yards. "I shall release you from this horror...."  
  
  
END OF PART 16  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Next Chapter - "Nocturnal Index"  
  
DDFA ayanami@internode.on.net  
  
  
Version 1.0 - 5th May 1998 


	17. SIU part 17: Nocturnal Index

S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page)  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Bandai and Kodansya. All  
other characters were thought up by me.  
  
I hope I'm not sued for writing this. I'm not some ripoff merchant,  
using other people's ideas for personal gain. I'm just a poor   
little know-nothing fanboy. I leave the ripoffs to professionals  
like Anya Romanov. ^_^  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
In the darkness of a hallway within the Sacred House compound,  
two enemies who used to be friends were discussing another person   
who could also be classified as such....  
  
Both almost appeared to be negative images of each other....  
Setsuna with her tanned complexion and dark green hair, and Carey  
with her pale skin and ice-white hair....  
  
"I take it he used your Princess's powers to get through the   
Security?" Carey sneered at Lysithea's obvious manipulation of   
Usagi.  
  
"What else would he be with her for?" Setsuna ignored the   
comment. She felt no comfort in having one of her compatriots   
insulted by someone she knew and trusted not, especially when the  
insulted party was her Princess....  
  
"Interesting. I wonder why he hasn't thought of doing this   
before?" Carey put a hand to her chin in mock thought. Setsuna   
shrugged, inwardly knowing that Carey probably knew.  
  
"My guess is he's been biding his time."  
  
"For what reason?" Carey looked at Setsuna, archly.  
  
"Preparations." Setsuna sniffed with bitchy affectation.   
With Carey, conversations were always a matter of fighting bitch  
with bitch. Considering the open coolness between them, she was on  
her guard in case Carey decided to let rip with a blinder spell....  
One Setsuna COULDN'T predict.  
  
Only Carey could do that.  
  
"Ah. Yes, of course. I forgot about that. It won't do him  
any good, though." Carey smiled.  
  
Setsuna blinked, surprised. "Why? What do you mean?"  
  
Carey wagged a finger in Setsuna's face, clicking her tongue  
condescendingly. "Oh Meiou-san.... Honestly." Carey stepped away,   
staring into space. "To achieve what he wants to achieve, he needs  
two of our kind.... One Bestial and one Ethereal." She looked   
aside at Setsuna, knowingly. "He can only have one, now."  
  
"You mean you've...." Setsuna frowned, then shook her head.   
"I didn't think you'd go through with an elaborate plan of that   
kind."  
  
Carey chuckled, shrugging. "In a few minutes, there won't be   
a Bestial on the face of the Earth capable of matching his   
requirements."  
  
----o  
  
Arisa continued to chant her spell. Not easy to do when one  
is standing on top of a water tower, in the middle of a large   
industrial estate dockyard on a wet and rainy day, with the rapidly   
fading light making vision problematic.  
  
It seemed as if the creature that used to be Sherrie had tired   
of its meal. Slowly, it started to pace over to where Nobuhiro was   
standing, transfixed by the scene, from the docking shed that had   
been pasted with the remains of its victims, the dockyard workers   
it had caught in its short and vicious hunt.   
  
It stomped over the wooden boards, under which Rumiko was   
lying. Well, thought Arisa, not pausing in the incantation, there   
was one good aspect to being smashed into an old wooden door....  
  
Then the creature made a deep-throated cackling sound, and   
made to pounce on the frozen Nobuhiro. Arisa could see its outline   
crouching. At that moment, she ended her incantation. "RELEASE!"   
She cried at the top of her voice.  
  
The creature looked up at her. Arisa shivered at the hungry  
glare, but there was something else within those eyes.... A sudden  
realisation... Of what was going on.  
  
There was an explosion of light, and the creature's form came  
into full view as waves of magical energy struck it from the side.   
It's part-human, part-feline, part-demon figure flashing with the   
plasma and bolts that emanated from the figure that stood from the   
pit of sand. Nobuhiro, stunned by this turn of events, fell onto   
his rump, wide-eyed with fear.  
  
The creature shivered, its bestial growl forming a word....  
  
"Kei....ko...."  
  
Yokuro Keiko stood tall, holding her hands before her in a  
praying stance.  
  
"Now, Sherrie..." She said in a voice that echoed across the  
yards. "I shall release you from this horror...."  
  
----o  
  
Part Seventeen  
Nocturnal Index  
  
----o  
  
"In a few moments, Doctor Mizuno, there shall be a couple of   
officers from the Major Crime department, here to take you to the  
metropolitan police headquarters. You will go with them." The   
silky, cultured voice of the shorter of the two young women echoed  
through the silence of Doctor Mizuno's office.  
  
The Doctor closed her eyes, shivering. "Why did Ami do this?"  
  
"I dunno. Some twisted sense of family loyalty. You know   
what they say. Blood runs thicker than water. Touching, really."  
The rougher brogue of the taller one's voice made the Doctor angry.  
She looked up at the taller one's sneering face. "What's wrong,   
Doctor? Have I hit a sore nerve?"  
  
"That's enough of that." The shorter one placed a hand around  
her partner's arm. They looked at each other for a few moments, a  
silent conversation passing between them through the expressions of  
their eyes, then the shorter one turned back to the Doctor. "You  
shall obey our commands, Doctor Mizuno. It would not be wise to   
upset us." She smiled, then guided her partner to the door, opening  
it. The Doctor watched them as they stepped from the room and   
closed the door behind them.  
  
  
Her face became a mask of despair, and she leaned down,   
placing that mask in her hands.  
  
----o  
  
"Ele ele esgepera vegebhera...." Keiko cried out at the top   
of her voice as the energy that emerged from her form increased   
exponentially.  
  
Arisa leapt from the tower, landing gracefully on the ground  
as Maria and the leader of Team Three, Araki Mikage, arrived by her   
side, all dazzled by the display from the Sacred House's prodigal   
child. Arisa noted that the figure of the creature had lowered   
itself to the ground, crouching almost in a foetal position. Arisa  
wondered if some semblance of Sherrie's mind had regained control  
and she was giving in to the inevitable....  
  
Arisa could feel pain within her soul. Pain from Sherrie,   
pain from Keiko, and pain from Rumiko, as the dark-haired young   
woman crawled from underneath the pile of broken wood, obviously  
injured, but rapidly healing as is her caste's ability....  
  
Rumiko had befriended Sherrie when the girl had first been   
inducted into the Sacred House. No, that was not technically   
correct.... Rumiko and Sherrie were.... Well, Arisa could never  
understand those kind of feelings. The pain she felt from Rumiko  
right now was exactly what she expected to feel.  
  
From Keiko, the emotions were raw and primal, and innocent.  
Keiko loved Sherrie, because Sherrie was one of very few people who  
would care for her on a personal level....  
  
For Sherrie to have betrayed them both in this manner, and to   
allow her bestial side to commit an atrocity the nature of which lay  
within the docking shed.... There was only ONE way Sherrie could be  
cleansed for this action....  
  
And then Sherrie's pain dissipated. Arisa searched for the   
pain, using her witch energies to seek what lay within Sherrie's   
soul....  
  
She screamed in pure terror at what she saw. Maria and Mikage  
stared at her as she fell back in faint, Maria catching her just in   
time.  
  
"Arisa-san.... Arisa-san..." Maria fell to her knees,   
holding Arisa's head in her lap. "Arisa-san, what is it? What did  
you see?"  
  
There was a scream.... A piercing scream that shook   
everything within a ten mile radius.... The cry of the banshee....  
And then the creature leapt, high into the air.   
  
They watched in horror as the beast flew towards Keiko, almost   
as if in slow motion. Its figure, flying through the air in a   
graceful arc....  
  
It was not nearly fast enough.  
  
----o  
  
Hotaru peered through the front gate of the Hikawa shrine.   
All appeared quiet. No, actually, abandoned was more appropriate   
for the scene that greeted her eyes. No visitors, no sign of Rei,  
her Grandfather or even Yuuichirou.  
  
She caught her breath, leaning against the gate. She had   
transformed to gain the energy required to cross the distance needed  
to get here in as little time as possible. Unfortunately, even with  
the increased powers, she was still taxing her stamina. She had run  
a large distance without stopping, except to remark on a trio of   
flying women, and was bloody well tired.  
  
Slowly, she padded through the gateway into the shrine   
grounds, peering nervously at the surroundings. The fading light   
had ramped up her paranoia level tenfold. Anyone could be watching  
the shrine from the surrounding bushes, and dressed, as she was, as  
Sailorsaturn, made her stand out like a sore thumb.  
  
  
She wasn't all that familiar with either Yuuichirou or Rei's  
Grandfather, either. They weren't likely to recognise her in this  
form, but they'd be straining to remember her even if she did wander  
in as Hotaru. Well, that was her prize for being one of that   
specious category, known as "Outer" Senshi. She decided it would be  
a good idea to make for Rei's bedroom. If the girl was back from   
wherever it was she had found herself, that was one likely place she  
would hide herself away.  
  
Hotaru dashed between buildings, stopping to glance around, in  
case someone was watching. Eventually, she reached the entrance of  
the shrine residence. All appeared dark within. Taking a breath,   
she entered the open passage.  
  
----o  
  
From the fingertips of Keiko's outstretched hands, sparkling  
and crackling beams of energy exploded with a physical force that  
gave everyone reason to take hold of the nearest support. These  
beams of energy struck the creature, running through its being with  
an angry, ripping motion, making the creature scream in agony and  
terror.  
  
Before anyone knew what was happening, it was all over. The  
energies faded away, and Sherrie's naked body fell to the ground  
between Keiko and Rumiko, bruised and bloodied.  
  
Keiko stared at Sherrie's still form, satisfied with what had  
been done, then toppled to the ground, unconcious.  
  
  
The first to stand was Rumiko, moving away, with much pain,  
towards Sherrie's side.  
  
"Is it done?" She heard Maria call from beside the tower,   
where she had been sheltering the recovering Arisa.  
  
Rumiko looked at her with tear-splattered annoyance, and  
turned Sherrie onto her back. Blood ran from the young woman's nose  
and mouth, yet she was concious, her breathing laboured. Already,  
Rumiko could hear the encroaching signs of the "death rattles".  
  
Maria and Mikage helped Arisa to her feet. They watched as  
Rumiko put a hand to Sherrie's face, touching her tenderly....   
  
"Are you alright?" Maria whispered into Arisa's ear.  
  
"Hai...." Arisa whispered back, then gestured to Mikage.   
"Mika-chan, secure Watanabe before he decides things are suitable  
for him to run amok again."  
  
The small, short-haired girl nodded and turned around,   
spotting the four other members of Team Three standing behind the  
base of the water tower. She beckoned to them and they ran over to  
Nobuhiro, who was still staring in Sherrie's direction, and   
surrounded him. There was no need for the show of force. He'd been  
stunned into submission....  
  
  
"Look... like I caused you... a spot of bother." Sherrie   
smiled painfully at Rumiko. Rumiko tried to smile back, but   
couldn't.  
  
"That's because you're a stupid idiot, you know that?" Rumiko  
shivered.  
  
"But hey, it releases me from the House's pair-bonding efforts  
for a while...." Sherrie chuckled, then coughed, spraying blood.   
Rumiko gripped Sherrie's hand.  
  
"It won't save me, though." Rumiko whispered as Sherrie   
regained some composure.  
  
"Hey.... You make sure they don't foist some retard off on   
you, okay?" Sherrie smiled and turned away, looking at Keiko's   
still form. "Will she be alright?" Sherrie turned back to Rumiko.  
  
"Hai.... This is what she was partnered with us for.... To   
cancel your bestial index if the need ever aorse." Rumiko felt a   
strange dizziness as Sherrie's face went pale. Mist began to rise   
from the redhead's body.  
  
"Look after her for me, Rumiko.... She needs her friends. I  
just wish I could have been a better one for her...."  
  
Rumiko nodded, tears running down her face.  
  
Sherrie's eyes glazed over.  
  
And they all watched as her body faded into the mist. The   
last contact Rumiko felt was Sherrie's hand, which evaporated in her  
own. The mist floated into the rain and dissipated to nothingness.  
  
  
Rumiko wailed.  
  
----o  
  
Aoi blinked. She was standing in the middle of her   
loungeroom. So was Mhaere. Gwen was sitting in a lounge chair  
nearby, and Ami was lying on the sofa. It annoyed Aoi somewhat that   
they were all making such a mess on the carpet and the lounge.  
  
"Nice trick. Couldn't you have chosen another part of my   
house, where mud and blood aren't quite as anathema?"  
  
"You're never pleased with anything, are you?" Mhaere   
wandered off into the kitchen. "Do you have a first aid kit in   
here?"  
  
"In the top cupboard." Aoi sighed and dropped her ex mobile  
phone on the carpet. She reached into her other pocket, finding it  
surprisingly dry, and pulled out an unsoiled handkerchief. She   
knelt down beside Ami and held the handkerchief gently across her  
nose and mouth.  
  
"Whoever you've found to heal her better make an appearance  
soon."  
  
She looked down at Ami's pained face, and sighed. Then she  
frowned and turned. "Umm.... Is there someone in my shower?"  
  
"What makes you think that?" She heard Mhaere say as the   
young woman rifled through the cupboards.  
  
"It sounds like the shower is on."  
  
"Well, if it's on, it's on." Mhaere sounded disinterested.  
  
Aoi rubbed her forehead in frustration. Then the noise of   
running water stopped and she heard rustling sounds from the   
bathroom. Slowly, she inched forward, towards the doorway to the   
hall. The bathroom door was opened and someone was padding their   
way towards the lounge.  
  
Aoi came face to face with Pagan, water still dripping from  
his hair and upper body.  
  
"YOU!" Aoi shouted.  
  
"YOU!" He retorted.  
  
And then she stared at his naked body. Or, at the very least,  
a portion of his naked body. For longer than she really intended   
to. Her face went beetroot red as he glanced down at the part he'd   
failed to properly cover.  
  
"Shit...." He disappeared back into the hallway.  
  
Aoi stood there and stared blankly for several moments, only  
coming to when Mhaere put a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"I wonder if his nickname's Clydesdale. Now I know why my   
sister had such an obsession with him." Mhaere smirked, making Aoi  
snort.  
  
"I'll kill you for this, Sherrie!" They heard him say from   
the hallway. Mhaere snorted.  
  
"Get your Meehans right, Lacey."  
  
His head appeared around the doorway, and he squinted at her.  
With a sigh, he nodded. "Yeah, right." He disappeared back into hall.  
  
"Do you think he believes me?" Mhaere looked at Aoi. "I   
mean, I know Sherrie and I look a lot alike, but still...."  
  
"He isn't the person you said would...."  
  
"Yep, he's the one who can mend your Sailorsenshi for you."  
  
----o  
  
Arisa watched as Nobuhiro was bundled into the rear of a box  
trailer. He had been sedated, along with Michelle, so the pair   
would be quiet as they were taken back to the Sacred House Compound.  
Arisa felt sorry for the both of them.... They were about to suffer  
the horrors of the Sacred House's "re-education" program....   
Something she'd had to endure, once or twice, after making bad a few  
decisions. Fortunately, it wasn't for very long.  
  
She'd decided to send Rumiko and Keiko back with the   
accompanying convoy. They had to sedate Rumiko, as well. Although  
it was understandable, the girl had allowed herself to put on a wild  
display of emotions that were quite unheard of from a Tani....  
  
  
Arisa stood by the main operations van, overlooking the scene  
at the docking shed, as members of the Sacred House's clean-up squad  
prepared to blow the shed up in a manner that was likely to emulate  
the kind of dismemberment and disembowlment that the dockyard   
workers had suffered. Meanwhile, other members of the squad were  
mopping up the "stray" workers. She rubbed her face and leant   
against the driver's door.  
  
"Feeling tired?" Maria stepped from behind the van,   
approaching Arisa. The smaller girl turned to her partner and   
nodded.  
  
"I'm also a bit concerned about Gwen. We haven't heard   
anything from her in a while."  
  
"Well, you know how she operates. Likes to be mysterious and  
all that crap."  
  
"Yes, I know that. But events are happening so quickly that,   
if something had happened to her, we've been too distracted to do  
anything about it."  
  
Maria shrugged, even though she shared Arisa's concerns about  
the third member of Team One. "I'm sure she can look after herself.  
She's been a lot quieter than this, for longer periods of time, in   
the past."  
  
"I don't know. I just have this feeling...."  
  
Maria turned to the shed. "It must be the atmosphere." Arisa  
followed her gaze. Suddenly, the rain started to fall heavily, and  
the pair jumped around, putting their arms over their heads. Maria  
threw open the driver's door of the van and helped Arisa inside,   
following suit soon after.  
  
----o  
  
The door to Rei's room was open, and all within was dark.   
Hotaru was never fond of these traditional Japanese residences.   
Their openness she found unguarded, and altogether too breezy. It  
felt pretty cold, right now, and she began to wonder just where the  
hell everyone had got to.  
  
She leant against the sliding door and peered in. In the dim  
light, she thought she could see a figure, crouching in the corner.  
Her heart was in her mouth. It was about the size and shape to be  
Rei.... But why would the girl be crouching, silently, within a   
darkened room? That kind of thing just didn't strike Hotaru as   
being a Rei kind of thing to do.  
  
She steeled herself, taking a breath.  
  
"Pssssst." She hissed into the room.  
  
"Who is that?" Came a reply, soft and tinged with an air of  
fear. Real fear.... That worried Hotaru a little. "Come on, show  
yourself. I'm ready for you!"  
  
"Is that you, Rei?"  
  
There was a pause. The figure seemed to move.... Standing up  
from the corner. Hotaru could see a hint of red on the figures   
clothes.  
  
"Who is that? I said show yourself!" The sound of the voice  
was a little louder, but still frightened.  
  
"It's me. Hotaru."  
  
"Hotaru?" The figure stepped forward, and Hotaru could see   
that it was, indeed, Rei.... Transformed into Mars. Hotaru stepped  
away from the door, and was immediately grabbed by Rei and pulled   
into the room.  
  
"Hey.... Take it easy...."  
  
"Get out of sight! They're out there."  
  
Hotaru blinked. "Who? Who is out there?"  
  
"THEY are. They've been watching me.... For a while now."  
  
"WHO, Mars. Who is out there?"  
  
"The Yakuza. The people we involved ourselves with....   
They're out there. I think they've taken Ojisan and Yuuichirou."  
  
"What makes you think that?"  
  
Rei rubbed her face. Hotaru could see her eyes were red.   
Either she was stoned or she had been crying herself silly.   
Considering the number of strange herbs she and her Grandfather  
used during their ceremonies, Hotaru wasn't counting out either  
possibility. "Nobody was here when I got home. They didn't tell  
me that they were going out, today...."  
  
"Look, Mars, maybe something came up today.... Something  
important. It doesn't mean they've been kidnapped."  
  
there was a creaking noise from somewhere within the   
residence, making both girls jump.  
  
"You hear that?" Rei looked around, nervously. "They're  
in here, somewhere."  
  
Hotaru wasn't so sure Rei was being paranoid, anymore. It  
WAS possible that the Yakuza, who they had associated with in their  
earlier campaign, had decided to turn against them. After all, that  
had been one of Setsuna's fears. However, not many within that   
group actually knew their true identities, and then not all of the  
identities were known. "I think we better check it for ourselves,  
don't you think?"  
  
"No...."  
  
"What is wrong with you, Mars? You're a Sailorsenshi. We   
have sufficient power to deal with them if there are Yakuza heavies  
out there."  
  
"They killed Makoto...." Rei backed away from the open door.  
"If they can get her, they can get us, too."  
  
"Wait a minute.... What do you mean, they killed Makoto?"  
  
Rei shivered and rubbed her eyes. "They killed her. Last  
night, they got her. I was there. I saw it happen. Two guys   
snatched her from outside her apartment, dragged her away.... I  
followed them...." Rei began to gag, as if the memory was more than  
her stomach could take.... Hotaru put an arm around her as she she  
fell to her knees.  
  
"Mars, we need to get this information to the others as soon   
as possible.... Everyone IS in danger, but it might not be the   
Yakuza who is to blame."  
  
"Then who?" Rei looked up at her.  
  
"A group, called the Sacred House, has taken Minako.... They  
might even have Usagi now, I don't know."  
  
"Oh Kami, no no no...." Rei put her hands to her head.   
"Please, tell me they're alright. Please."  
  
"They're alive, as far as I know."  
  
"Ohhhh." Rei fell to the floor, her hands over her head.   
"This is more horrible than...." She got up again. "Where are the  
others? Setsuna and Ami and Haruka and Michiru, I mean.... And   
where the hell are those bloody cats?"  
  
"Setsuna has gone to try and rescue Usagi. We must join her  
if she is successful."  
  
There was another creaking sound, this time closer. Both   
girls turned towards the doorway.  
  
"There IS someone in here." Rei clutched Hotaru's arm.  
  
"That was too soft to be a footstep."  
  
"But there is someone, or something, moving through the   
residence....." Rei was on the edge of panic. "I don't want to  
end up like Makoto.... Oh KAMI no...."  
  
Rei stood and started to back away, her arm held by Hotaru.  
"No, Mars. If there is someone in here, we must FIGHT them."  
  
Something brushed against the door, and they both turned,   
trembling with fear and anticipation.  
  
  
END OF PART 17  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Next Chapter - "To One in Paradise"  
  
DDFA ayanami@internode.on.net  
  
  
Version 1.0 - 6th May 1998 


	18. SIU part 18: To One in Paradise

S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page)  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Bandai and Kodansya. All  
other characters were thought up by me.  
  
I hope I'm not sued for writing this. I'm not some ripoff merchant,  
using other people's ideas for personal gain. I'm just a poor   
little know-nothing fanboy. I leave the ripoffs to professionals  
like Anya Romanov. ^_^  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
There was another creaking sound, this time closer. Both   
girls turned towards the doorway.  
  
"There IS someone in here." Rei clutched Hotaru's arm.  
  
"That was too soft to be a footstep."  
  
"But there is someone, or something, moving through the   
residence....." Rei was on the edge of panic. "I don't want to  
end up like Makoto.... Oh KAMI no...."  
  
Rei stood and started to back away, her arm held by Hotaru.  
"No, Mars. If there is someone in here, we must FIGHT them."  
  
Something brushed against the door, and they both turned,   
trembling with fear and anticipation.  
  
  
"Mars? Saturn? What are you doing in a dark room?"  
  
"We've been looking for you everywhere."  
  
Both Senshi looked down at the two small feline figures  
that stood in the doorway.  
  
"Luna... Artemis... thank KAMI it's only you." Hotaru  
answered, breathing a sigh of relief.  
  
"ONLY us?" Luna frowned. "What on Earth has been going  
on here?"  
  
Before Hotaru could answer, she felt Rei's arm go limp, and  
turned in surprise as the fire senshi fainted, falling to the floor.  
  
"Mars!" Hotaru managed to grab her before her head hit. She  
cradled Rei, gently lowering her head down as Luna and Artemis ran   
to her side.  
  
"You really MUST explain to me what has been going on. We   
can't seem to find anyone."  
  
"There.... Are reasons for this...." I just wish I knew what  
most of them were, Hotaru thought to herself.  
  
----o  
  
Part Eighteen  
To One in Paradise  
  
----o  
  
The flower orchard was the most peaceful place within the   
walls of the Sacred House. At least, it was to Tani Naoko.  
  
After the eventful day she had just endured, a few hours of   
quiet contemplation within the orchard was just what the doctor   
ordered. Not that she needed a doctor, much.  
  
She knelt upon the small dais meant for such contemplation,  
set off to one side of the orchard, and stared across the rows of  
the red flowers, with their black stems, growing in the thick, rich  
dark soils of their homeland. Each row was lined with the complex  
watering system required to allow the temperamental flowers to   
blossom, along with the carefully modified air conditioning, to give  
the atmosphere that special crispness the flowers liked so much.   
Given both, they would blossom all year round.  
  
  
The flowers used to grow within the valley that the Tani clan  
hailed from. Its properties, as an additive in the production of  
Vasculin, was discovered after much research into their affliction.  
At least, that was what they'd called it, then.  
  
Since that time, and with the advent of better production   
methods, there was no longer the need to hunt fullblood humans for  
their blood (she always chuckled at that.... If they were   
fullblood to begin with, then they were pretty empty by the end.   
Vampiric humour. Had to love it).   
  
Not that it meant they weren't required to learn how to drink   
properly. There were individuals, pure humans, who had been bred   
for the specific purpose of training the Tani's and others like them   
on how to drink.  
  
The common term for these were "bleeders". These were people   
capable of losing vast quantities of blood without ill, and with the   
ability to replenish that supply over a remarkably ahort period of   
time.  
  
  
She took a breath and filled her senses with the bouquet of   
the blossoms. It almost felt like they were talking to her, calming  
her.... A flower had no thoughts, no emotions, yet it could burst  
into life with such intense beauty....  
  
"Sukoiiii.... Look at all the flowers in here...."  
  
"Shh."  
  
"There isn't even any sunlight. How do they get them to   
grow?"  
  
"Those lights, set in the ceiling, are all these flowers   
need."  
  
"I haven't seen flowers like these before. Are they roses?   
Or are they chrysanthemums? They look like both."  
  
"They're neither. It would take too long to explain, and we   
don't have the time."  
  
"It's so pretty in here. Can't we stay a while?"  
  
"There is someone in here. If they catch us..."  
  
"Oh shit."  
  
"And have you forgotten your friend? We can't just hover   
whilst they could be doing the most unspeakable things to her...."  
  
"Sorry.... Its just that.... the atmosphere in here. It's  
so.... So...."  
  
Naoko turned aside and peered at the two newcomers, standing   
on the gantry that ran along the wall to her left. She recognised  
one, immediately, as Lysithea Caprice. All her alarm bells went off  
at once, but she maintained her composure. The other she recognised  
as the girl who was attacked within the coffee shop.... The one   
Jacquie described as Sailormoon.  
  
Only this time, she WAS Sailormoon. Naoko faced forward and   
closed her eyes, reaching out with her senses.  
  
"You can feel the atmosphere in here?"  
  
"Sure. It's like they're talking to me...."  
  
There was silence. Naoko could tell Lysithea was deep in   
thought.  
  
"Well, I guess we can split up from here." he said,   
eventually. Sailormoon's voice was disbelieving and incredibly   
whiney. So much for the calm composure of a famous superhero.  
  
"What do you mean, split up?"  
  
"Shhhh....."  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"That's alright. They way to where they are holding your   
friend is through the door on the other side of the orchard."  
  
Liar, Naoko thought.  
  
"All the way over there? How do I get past that girl?"  
  
"Extremely quietly, if you can manage that."  
  
"Like I didn't already know you were here." Naoko whispered   
to herself. If it wasn't so sickening to listen to, Naoko would   
have laughed.  
  
She peered aside at Sailormoon, taking note of the girl's   
lovely skin tone. She licked her lips.  
  
----o  
  
Kurabuto stepped into the autopsy observation room, guiding   
Miki and Kaji through the door. "Keep an eye on her, will you,   
Akunatsuka. We don't want her getting up to any mischief." He   
stepped back through the door, closing it behind him.  
  
Kaji put a hand on Miki's shoulder. "How are you holding up,  
there? Would you like anything?" Miki turned to him, her face   
betraying her emotions.  
  
"A lawyer might help. I'm not hungry." She shook her head.  
"Why in hell did I let Aoi do what she did?"  
  
"It's too late to ask yourself that kind of question. What's  
done is done." He smiled. "I think we better sit down. You almost  
look like you're going to collapse."  
  
"I didn't join the force to be some lawgiving glory hog, you  
know.... It was just a job, right? Right?" She looked at him,   
pleadingly. Kaji was surprised by her expression.  
  
"Well, I...."  
  
"I never intended to go any further than the front office and  
dispatch. My mother always worried about her only daughter being a  
cop.... I didn't want to upset her, or anything...." Miki broke  
down. Kaji guided her over to a chair and sat her down.  
  
"Listen.... All that will, most likely, occur is that you   
shall be given a warning by the internal investigation branch. It's  
not like you're going to be fined or imprisoned or sacked, or   
anything like that."  
  
"But it goes on my record of employment.... How am I going to  
live with this?"  
  
Kaji sighed. "Look, I've got black marks on my record, right?  
It's not as if I really care about them."  
  
"But others care. People who can make your life difficult   
when it pleases them, in the hierachy. I don't know if I want to   
work under that kind of stress."  
  
Kaji sighed, shaking his head. "You're making a mountain out  
of a molehill, Watanabe-san...."  
  
"Am I?" She looked at him, sternly.  
  
----o  
  
Setsuna and Carey wandered along the hallway, side by side.   
Setsuna didn't like some of the looks she was getting from some of   
those they passed.  
  
"It must be your healthy skin tone." Carey chuckled. "Always  
a good attractor for the Tanis and their inlaws."  
  
"It's not that I'm worried about."  
  
Carey shook her head. "Oh my dear Setsuna.... This is the   
Sacred House, remember? We value life in here."  
  
"So what about that little event down at the dockyards?"  
  
"Hmm? The dockyards?" Carey blinked, then frowned. "Oh   
that. You know about that, do you?"  
  
"Quite." Setsuna pursed her lips as they paused at an   
intersection with another hallway. This hallway was larger than the  
one they had been walking along and had lines running down its   
length. At one end was a pair of large doors. Setsuna turned to  
Carey. "I do believe twentytwo dockyard workers were killed,   
there. Going to take a lot to cover that up."  
  
"Damn your precognition." Carey said, without expressing any  
emotion whatsoever. Setsuna shook her head, chuckling.  
  
"So, with Sherrie out of the picture, all of Lysithea's plans  
shall be for nought." Setsuna paused. "I'm impressed with the   
depth of your arrogance."  
  
"Thankyou." Carey bowed slightly.  
  
"And now that this is the case, he will be left with no   
alternative other than to kill you."  
  
"Of course." Carey shrugged. "I expected as much."  
  
"And he is now within the walls of the Sacred House, looking  
for you...."  
  
"....Devoid of the knowledge I have just given you. Thus he  
shall not try to kill me. Immediately, anyway."  
  
"And you have him exactly where you want him.... In the midst  
of enemy territory." Setsuna could do no more than shake her head,   
pitifully. "If anyone finds out that you were responsible for   
manipulating Sherrie to stop taking her medication...."  
  
"....I'll be in a hell of a lot of trouble. Yes, I know. But  
honestly, do you think I really care." Carey took a breath. "Now,   
we both have our problems, and they are both situated within the   
bounds of the Sacred House. Need I say that we, at the very least,  
call a truce until we achieve a solution."  
  
"A truce?" Setsuna shot Carey a disbelieving look. "And what  
would that entail? You launching into me as soon as Lysithea is   
dealt with?"  
  
"I could have launched into you the moment we first bumped   
into each other. Remember, it was I who saw you first. I could   
have just sneaked up behind you, and...." Carey ran a finger across  
her throat. Setsuna was in no doubt she was speaking the truth.  
  
"So why didn't you?"  
  
"Curiosity, I guess. I felt your presence within the   
Compound, and I wanted to know why you were here."  
  
"Haven't you heard the old adage about curiosity, yet? What   
if I had launched an attack into you?"  
  
"Ah, but you didn't, did you? I wonder why." Carey smiled.  
Setsuna shot her a piercing stare.  
  
"Venus." Carey's smile didn't fade at Setsuna's suggestion.  
"So, you haven't broken through the mental blocks I have placed in  
her mind."  
  
"Only a matter of time. And lets face it, the girl is so   
stupid, she answers just about every question we ask her."  
  
Setsuna cringed. "Shit."  
  
"Shit indeed. Are all of you Sailorsenshi as stupid as she?"  
  
"I'm sorry. She is something of an exception."  
  
"So what does that make your Princess?"  
  
"A lot brighter than you think. Sooner or later, she's going  
to work Lysithea out. And then...."  
  
"And then?" Carey rubbed her chin with fascination.  
  
"And then.... Well, she isn't the Princess for nothing,   
Carey. Even if she isn't fully aware of what she is able to do."  
  
Alarm bells rang at the end of the hallway with the large   
doors. Both Setsuna and Carey turned as emergency lights flashed  
and the huge doors slowly folded open.  
  
They stepped back and watched as vans and box trailers, from   
the scene at the dockyards, rolled past.  
  
"You really should have pedestrian lights here...." Setsuna  
chuckled.  
  
"Quite." Carey nodded.  
  
----o  
  
"You can take your shower, now." Pagan peered from the   
doorway to the hall, towel wrapped around vital portions of his  
anatomy. Aoi and Mhaere looked up at him as they tended to Ami.   
"And wipe those smiles off you faces. This is embarrassing enough  
as it is." He leaned against the doorway, crossing his arms.  
  
Aoi stood up and padded across the room, smiling at him as she  
walked around him. "Was it as good for you as it was for me?" She   
chuckled and made distance between them before he could react. He  
shook his head, sighing.  
  
"So, you're the one who snatched me from the bottom of the   
harbour...." Pagan looked down his nose at Mhaere.  
  
"You could say that, but I'm afraid we don't have the time to  
discuss it." She gestured to Ami. "I'm afraid she requires your   
healing power, immediately."  
  
"Hmm?" Pagan stepped over to Ami's side and knelt, placing a  
hand over her face. "Indeed, she does. She has bleeding around   
the brain."  
  
"Eh?" Mhaere looked at him, disbelievingly.  
  
"No matter. I can deal with little problems like that."  
  
"I'm glad you're describing it as a little problem."  
  
"I've had to deal with worse." Pagan said grimly as he closed  
his eyes. A warm glow surrounded the hand that was placed, fingers  
outspread, on Ami's face. "This shall take about an hour. I can't  
guarentee what her mental state shall be like when I'm finished.   
There has been some brain damage, and despite the fact that I am  
capable of healing neuronic material, the damage can lead to a loss  
of learned information."  
  
"As in?"  
  
"Much of what she has learnt since early childhood. It will  
cover most aspects of her learning, from higher intellectual   
processes to social skills. The damage may be limited to one   
particular subgroup of information, or a sugical loss of information  
packets."  
  
"You speak as if her mind was a machine." Mhaere shrugged.  
  
"Not a machine. But a vitally important aspect of one."   
Pagan said, softly, concentrating. "So, tell me.... How did you   
know I was buried in mud up to my eyeballs at the bottom of the   
harbour?"  
  
"Hmm.... An accident, really. I happened to be watching over  
what my sister is up to from the other side."  
  
"The other side?" Pagan glanced at her, then opened his mouth  
in a silent "oh".  
  
"Yes, Nemesis, I think it is referred to in this world. Quite   
a nice place, actually, if one removes the less sociable aspects of  
society over there."  
  
"Hmm.... So how long have you been over there?"  
  
"Can't say, actually. Time has a tendency to become   
immaterial in that world." She stood and crossed her arms.   
"Anyway, I saw you were having a bit of a problem with my sister,   
stupid girl that she is. Allowing herself to be manipulated like   
that into ceasing her consumption of the Vasculin drug."  
  
"I heard that you also ceased to take the drug."  
  
"Hmm.... But I stopped of my own accord. Certain members of  
the Sacred House wanted to see what would happen if they allowed the  
becoming process to continue. They didn't like what they found, so  
they shut off my bestial index."  
  
"Ouch...."  
  
"Indeed." Mhaere smiled.  
  
"And that caused you to bridge the gap bewteen the two   
worlds...." Pagan shook his head. "How very clever of them."  
  
"Indeed. But it was a blessing in disguise. Once within   
Nemesis, the atmosphere there gave me the opportunity to take   
control of my powers, completely." She chuckled. "The fault lies  
within the bestial index itself.... The genetic coding is   
imbalanced in the bean sidhe.... It is only with the reprogramming  
of that coding, through immersion in the Nemesian atmosphere, that  
fixes the problem."  
  
"Something they're obviously going to have to do with   
Sherrie." Pagan said, resignedly. "How long does it take?"  
  
"It depends on the subject, themselves. It could take years.  
Maybe nothing more than months or days. As I said, it is hard to  
tell the passage of time over there." She smiled. "Anyways, I hope  
you managed to wash all of that mud from every portion of your body.  
Be a waste if you ended up getting poisoned by all the toxic   
chemicals and heavy metals down there."  
  
"Thanks for your concern." Pagan growled.  
  
"Yes, well, you were the idiot who decided a substance thicker  
than air was a nice place to hide from a being who could launch   
sonic attacks."  
  
"So sue me." Pagan turned to her. "So, how does it feel to   
be working with one of the 'enemy'?"  
  
"Enemy?" Mhaere frowned.  
  
"Yes. I'm Coven, and you used to be House." He smiled. "And  
how will that fit the Kikotsuka woman and this girl here into the   
bargain?"  
  
"Oh come on. You don't honestly think things like that really   
matter much, anymore?"  
  
"Of course they matter. The differences between the Coven and  
the House are basic and fundamental. They represent differing   
points of view on how life and society should be maintained."  
  
"To me, Pagan, they both look exactly the same. The two sides  
of the same coin." She sneered at him. "I've spent time within the  
world of Nemesis, watching the actions of both groups, and I have   
come to the conclusion that the little underground war that exists  
between them is nothing more than a waste of energy and lives."  
  
"Easy for you to say. I have friends within the Coven. Some   
of them have died for the ideal of free will and self-control of   
their lives." He turned back to Ami, not wanting to face the   
pitying expression on Mhaere's face.  
  
"Do you really believe that is what the war is about? My   
friend, have you never heard of the manipulation of ideals? The  
people who run both groups use those ideals for their personal power  
games. Why do you think members of both committees have positions  
of power within the political and financial landscape of this   
country?"  
  
"I may seem stupid to you, Mhaere Meehan. But I happen to   
believe in those ideals. And God help me, if I find anyone has been  
manipulating those ideals within the upper echelons of the Coven,   
then they will live to regret their actions."  
  
  
Mheare paused, thinking. "Yes.... I believe in your   
idealism. But should one place the energy of their idealism in a  
group such as the Coven?"  
  
Pagan did not answer that.  
  
----o  
  
Kurabuto stood in the autopsy room, watching Makoto's heart   
crystal bubble and smoulder in the small tray the coronial   
pathologist had placed it for further study.  
  
"It started about six hours ago. I thought it might have been  
some kind of reaction to the air, so I took a sample and studied it   
under the microscope. There is no doubt about it.... this is   
living human tissue.... And it is dying." The pathologist shook  
his head. "I wish we'd had the opportunity to run more tests on  
it before this started to occur."  
  
"My Kami...." Kurabuto leaned down and looked at the crystal  
closely. The pathologist put his hand on Kurabuto's shoulder.  
  
"Be careful. We don't know what some of those gasses it is  
emitting are."  
  
Kurabuto lifted himself up and stepped back. "Well, keep a  
watch on it. The last thing we need is for it to explode in our   
faces."  
  
It exploded.  
  
----o  
  
Kaji and Miki fell to the floor as the glass window, that   
looked out onto the autopsy room, was shattered into a thousand  
fragments, flying past and cutting them, eventually implanting  
into the rear wall.  
  
Miki let out a cry of panic as flames and sparks flew through  
the now open space where the window used to be. Kaji tried to   
shield Miki, but not before a large bolt of plasma-like energy   
struck her in the chest. She screamed as she clawed at the molten  
lump, slowly seeping into her.  
  
Kaji looked on helplessly as the glow disappeared, leaving a   
burn mark on the front of Miki's uniform. She fell to the floor,  
unconcious. Kaji leaned down and pulled open the top of her   
uniform, expecting to see her hideously burned. But there was   
nothing. Her skin was unmarked.  
  
Looking nervously around to see if anyone saw him doing this,  
he lifted her off the floor and carried her towards the doorway. He  
could hear fire alarms sounding throughout the building, and the   
sprinkling sound of the fire jets within the autopsy room.  
  
With difficulty, he managed to open the door, and held it with  
his foot as he inched his way from the room. He looked down the   
corridor to see Kurabuto and the pathologist, hacking and coughing   
on the floor, outside the doorway to the autopsy room.  
  
Footsteps caught his attention, and he turned the other way to  
see people running towards the scene, some with guns at the ready.  
  
He desperately needed a drink.  
  
  
END OF PART 18  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Next Chapter - "Sweet Seduction"  
  
DDFA ayanami@internode.on.net  
  
  
Version 1.0 - 6th May 1998 


	19. SIU part 19: Sweet Seduction

S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page)  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Bandai and Kodansya. All  
other characters were thought up by me.  
  
I hope I'm not sued for writing this. I'm not some ripoff merchant,  
using other people's ideas for personal gain. I'm just a poor   
little know-nothing fanboy. I leave the ripoffs to professionals  
like Anya Romanov. ^_^  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
LOG 1.32.22 (Dr Miriam Bartholemew)  
  
"For the tape, the subject now in holding cell 32 is one Aino  
Minako. She is roughly nineteen years old, and has recently   
experienced a late becoming, subgroup Succubae Major. She has had  
her first innoculation with starter Vasculin, and is currently   
experiencing the typical early reactions to the medication,   
including hypersensitivity to light, colour, sound and touch. We   
are yet to determine whether there is an olfactory reaction. This  
has been combined with a mild psychotic reaction that shall, with  
further doses of the medication, hopefully lessen with time. As you  
can see on the tape, she has been pawing the screen of the   
television set we had placed in her cell. This behaviour has been   
occuring for close to an hour, now, with no visible signs of   
retreat. Until she withdraws from this state, it will be impossible  
to start working with her. From what the Chief of Staff, Joachim   
Schneider, has told me, her personality fits into the typical class   
of a passive positive.... Her mental laziness, therefore, might   
present a problem when it comes to the process of re-education."  
  
----o  
  
Kaji and Miki fell to the floor as the glass window, that   
looked out onto the autopsy room, was shattered into a thousand  
fragments, flying past and cutting them, eventually implanting their  
glittering segments into the rear wall.  
  
Miki let out a cry of panic as flames and sparks flew through  
the now open space where the window used to be. Kaji tried to   
shield Miki, but not before a large bolt of plasma-like energy   
struck her in the chest. She screamed as she clawed at the molten  
lump, slowly seeping into her.  
  
Kaji looked on helplessly , reaching forward to grab the ball   
as it faded away into nothingness, leaving an awful burn mark on the   
front of Miki's uniform, the unpleasant smell of burnt fabric   
hanging in the air.   
  
Miki collapsed, unconcious, as Kaji tried to lift her up, her   
limp hands hitting the floor with an audible thump. Kaji stared at  
her. her eyes were still open, and she didn't seem to be breathing.  
He swallowed and pulled open the top of her uniform, expecting to   
see her skin hideously burnt. But there was nothing. She was  
unmarked.  
  
  
He stared at her bare skin for several moments,   
disbelieveingly. Then he realised that, if anyone caught him doing   
this, it might be rather misinterpreted....  
  
Looking nervously around, he lifted her off the floor and   
carried her towards the doorway. He could hear fire alarms sounding   
throughout the building, and the sprinkling sound of the fire jets   
within the autopsy room. They started to go off in the observation  
room as smoke billowed through the shattered window. He cursed as  
he proceeded to get drenched.  
  
With difficulty, he managed to open the door, and held it with  
his foot as he inched his way from the room, turning aside so Miki's   
head wouldn't hit anything.   
  
He looked down the corridor to see Kurabuto and the   
pathologist, hacking and coughing on the floor, outside the doorway   
to the autopsy room.  
  
Footsteps caught his attention, and he turned the other way to  
see people running towards the scene, some with their service   
revolvers at the ready. He looked at the first couple to arrive,   
helplessly, as if silently asking them to put the guns away.  
  
He desperately needed a drink.  
  
----o  
  
Part Nineteen  
Sweet Seduction  
  
----o  
  
Naoko was particularly amused by the way Sailormoon tried to  
tiptoe past her.  
  
She chanced a quick glance, and noticed that Usagi was now   
starting to pace a little more rapidly towards the doorway at the   
far end of the Sacred House's orchard. The door that would lead to   
her death, if Naoko didn't do something about it.  
  
She sighed. She liked the flesh of the girl.... So pale, yet  
healthy. She liked the low cut around the collar. She could see...  
hear... the sound of her blood, rushing through her throat. The   
more Naoko thought about it, the more attractive the prospect of   
saving Sailormoon became.  
  
Saving for her own purposes, of course.  
  
She just resisted the temptation to lick her lips a second   
time and glanced back in the other direction. She could see   
Lysithea Caprice, now making his way through the glazened gantry on  
the second level of the orchard's overlook. She closed her eyes for  
a second, and passed a mental note to the security system about his  
presence.  
  
Immediately, sirens began to howl through the orchard. Naoko  
sighed.... They really had to curb this tendency to go off, half-  
cocked.... She opened her eyes and saw Lysithea had near wet   
himself. Well, good. She then turned back to Sailormoon, to see   
the girl was desperately fighting the manual controls to open the  
far door. Naoko took a breath, and stood....  
  
----o  
  
"An emergency?" Setsuna quizzed Carey as they stepped into  
the office of the Chief of Operations. Carey shrugged and closed  
her eyes for a moment.  
  
"Ah. One of our people has spotted Lysithea. He is within  
the refinery complex, heading towards administration."  
  
"Here, in other words."  
  
"Indeed." Carey opened her eyes. "He'll have to do better  
than that, though, to get to me." She paused. "Oh, and your   
"Princess....  
  
"Yes?" Setsuna raised an eyebrow.  
  
"He has sent her into the holding pens. Our people are doing  
their best to stop her getting herself killed."  
  
"The holding pens? Not the..."  
  
"Yes, that. And I wouldn't try to transport yourself there.  
The defense systems go into blanket operation when there is an   
alarm." Carey stepped over to her desk as Setsuna gave her a   
dubious look.  
  
"You're not lying to me, are you?"  
  
"Oh Setsuna...." Carey turned and rolled her eyes. "Would I  
lie to you?"  
  
----o  
  
Hotaru, Rei and the cats crept through Hikawa shrine's   
residential quarters, looking from room to room. There certainly   
didn't seem to be anyone around. As they reached the bedroom of   
Rei's Grandfather, Hotaru paused in her precision slide along the   
wall, looking back at her three compatriots, who were doing the  
same.  
  
"Do we really need to creep around like this?" She whispered.  
Rei gave her an expression that could only be read one way. "Look,  
it's silly. If there is someone in here, they would have sprung on  
us by now, surely?"  
  
"They are probably tormenting us.... They know who we are.   
They know everything about us...."  
  
"How? How do they know everything about us?" Luna rubbed up  
against Rei's leg, making her jump.  
  
"I.... I can't...." Rei looked at Luna, her lips quivering,  
as if teetering on the edge of spilling everything.  
  
Rei had been less than forthcoming with any information,   
regarding just who it was that was after her, other than they were  
involved with the Yakuza. Why a group like the Yakuza should put  
fear into the heart of a Sailorsenshi with the power of fire, Hotaru  
and the cats weren't quite sure. That Rei seemed to think that, by  
simply fraternising with her, their lives were also in danger also  
confounded them.  
  
"Dammit, Mars.... I need something to go on. I can't just  
creep around your house in the dark, in more ways than one." Hotaru  
put a hand on Rei's shoulder. Rei turned and shrugged her off.   
That seemed to end that little thread of conversation.  
  
"Where are Kumada-san and Rei's Ojisan?" Artemis padded up   
next to Hotaru. "Surely a group, like the Yakuza, would target the  
senshi specifically, not their families?"  
  
"Artemis, you have to be stupid if you think that they   
wouldn't, at the very least, try to kidnap them, if only to use as a   
bargaining chip against us." Luna chided him. Artemis shrugged   
like only a cat could.  
  
"Well, pardon me for being stupid...." He sniffed and peered  
into the bedroom. "Looks clear to me. Can't see anyone." He   
stepped into the room, tripping a wire.  
  
He heard something rattling from above and looked up to see a  
several large objects flying towards him. He let out a long screech   
of fear....  
  
----o  
  
LOG 2.32.22 (Dr Miriam Bartholemew)  
  
"The subject now appears to be retreating from the psychotic  
fascination with the television set, and has sunk into a kind of  
intellectual torpor. She is dazed and staring into space, but not  
showing any signs of actually being concerned about her captivity.  
Considering what she is, it might be a good idea to set up specific  
magical defenses against any attacks she might attempt in an effort  
to escape. This will also serve to lessen any personal injury she  
might sustain in such an act."  
  
----o  
  
When Katarin pulled the car into the hospital's front   
carpark, both he and Shimazaki stared, boggle-eyed, at the crowd  
that was waiting for them at the entrance.  
  
Katarin brought the car to a stop and Shimazaki opened his   
door, peering out at the silent group.  
  
"Uhhh... We'd like to speak with the General Manager of this  
hospital...." The young police officer looked around, nervously, as  
an elderly man, with balding grey hair, dressed in a dark grey suit,  
stepped forward.  
  
"I am the General Manager of this hospital. You are the two  
police officers who have come to pick up Doctor Mizuno?"  
  
Katarin got out of his side of the car and stepped around the  
front. "Yes, we are here to pick her up. How did you...?"  
  
"Doctor Mizuno has confessed to the theft of a large quantity  
of pharmeceuticals from this establishment. We called the police  
about this matter some twenty minutes ago." He gestured to Doctor  
Mizuno, who was standing in the middle of the group. Some of the  
other doctors and interns were trying to calm and console her,   
whilst hospital security officers were keeping an eye on events.  
  
Shimazaki turned to Katarin. "Ready to wear, wouldn't you   
say?" Katarin gave him a pained expression.  
  
  
In the front lobby, peering through the glass doors, two   
figures looked at each other grimly. They left with haste.  
  
----o  
  
Usagi managed to wrench the large wheel-lock of the door   
around to "open" and pulled it back. The door glided open, like a  
large bank-vault, and all beyond was dark. No, that wasn't   
necessarily true. There WERE dim lights within there.... Little  
blue flames, several of them, running both sides of the corridor.  
  
Usagi could hear a frothing and bubbling sound over the alarms  
that were still sounding.... She shivered and peered behind her.  
  
The girl was gone. Nowhere in sight. She looked all around   
the vast orchard of flowers, but she was nowhere to be seen. Usagi  
took a breath and stepped through the doorway.  
  
  
Lights flickered on, stunning her for a second. She leaned   
against the wall, holding her chest and breathing deeply. It was   
just a sensor light, nothing else.  
  
She stared into the long, wide corridor in disbelief. All the  
way along, there were glass vats of a dark red-black liquid, thick   
and viscous, bubbling away as they were heated by small bunsen   
burners beneath. The fluid would froth up into small, transparent   
pipes, which ran along the wall and through the wall at the far end.   
There was another door at that end, far more traditional than this   
one had been, though.  
  
She stepped up to one of the vats and peered in at it. Twin  
blades were mixing the liquid within, and she could see, coming from  
secondary pipes, more of the liquid pouring into the vat. She put   
her hand up to the side of the vat, tentatively. It wasn't anywhere  
near as hot as she thought it was.  
  
There was a strange smell in the air. She tried to put a name  
to it.... She'd smelt it before. It wasn't a pleasant smell, by   
any means, but it was mixed in with a sweeter scent, pleasant to the  
nose. Rather like the bouquet of the flowers in the orchard.  
  
  
A cold sensation ran through her when she realised what the   
first smell was.... it was blood.... The vats contained a mixture  
of blood and juice from the flowers, and they were being distilled,  
for purposes unknown. This hallway was part of a giant   
distillery.... For a blood liqueur....  
  
  
There was a giggle behind her, and she spun around, to come  
face to face with the girl who had been meditating within the   
orchard. Usagi recognised her as one of the girls who had taken  
Minako in the coffee shop....  
  
"YOU!" Usagi threw herself aside, giving herself some room,  
backing slowly along the corridor.  
  
"Konbanwa." The girl bowed. "Welcome, Sailormoon, to the  
Sacred House. How can I help you?"  
  
"You took my friend! Give her back to me!" Usagi assumed a  
fighting stance. Her determination was immediately broken by the  
girl's total lack of concern.  
  
"I'm afraid I can't comply to that request. I shall have to  
ask my superiors about that. Would you like some refreshments in  
the meantime?" Naoko looked aside at the vats. "I apologise for  
the atmosphere in here. It is less than optimal. Would you like  
to join me, back in the orchard, to a cup of tea?" Naoko smiled.  
  
Usagi ran like heck. The girl's eyes had drilled their way  
into her soul.... She was almost tempted to throw herself at the  
girl's mercy, for the pure pleasure of giving in to what she wanted.  
Deep down, Usagi had an inkling of what that might be.   
  
She threw the next door open and charged through, running onto   
a gantry that crossed over vast wells of the blood liqueur. She was   
momentarily stunned by the strength of the aroma, but recovered and   
continued on, passing through the following doorway.  
  
  
Naoko stepped into the wellroom, shaking her head. Some   
people just can't be told....  
  
----o  
  
Artemis lay dazed under a pile of metal pots. Hotaru and Rei  
were on their knees, pulling the pots from his flattened form whilst  
Luna stood some distance away, shaking her head.  
  
"The idiot. He NEVER looks where he puts his paws. Honestly,  
I ask you...."  
  
"What the hell was that, anyway?" Hotaru looked at the   
tripwire that crossed the doorway. Rei sighed.  
  
"Ojichan likes his privacy in his room, so he planted that   
trap to catch the unwary."  
  
"Like Artemis." Luna snorted. "Really, Mars.... We must   
have a talk about the behaviour of your family."  
  
"Shutup you. It's bad enough hearing you lecture Usagi-chan  
without getting the same treatment...." Rei looked as if she was  
going to pitch one of the pots at Luna. The cat relented.  
  
"I was only saying it in jest...."  
  
"Oh YEAH? Well let me tell you this. If there is anybody in  
this house, who are out to kill us, we've just given them the best   
alert to our presence money can't buy."  
  
"You still haven't told us why you think there will be someone  
coming after you." Hotaru lifted Artemis from the mess and cuddled  
the dazed kitty, whilst turning from Rei. "I know there are groups  
after us, for one various reason or another.... But they want us   
for an entirely different purpose. Not hatchet us on the spot. You  
say Jupiter is dead? I say show me the proof."  
  
Rei shook her head, sadly. "You just don't get it, do you?"  
  
"Why should I?"  
  
"You KNOW why they killed Makoto.... You KNOW what she has  
been like these past few weeks. Argumentative and difficult. She  
drew attention to herself, to people who DO want to kill us, and on  
top of that...." Rei paused. Both Hotaru and Luna looked up at her  
expression.... Like she had been caught out saying too much.  
  
"...And on top of that?" Luna encouraged her. Rei didn't   
fall for it, and turned away, holding her knees under her chin.  
  
"She's a basket case." Hotaru whispered to Luna.  
  
"She's not normally like this. Rei has never been reticent  
or afraid of any of our enemies...." Luna shook her head.  
  
"What the hell could have gotten to her?"  
  
"She said she saw Makoto being attacked.... By someone."   
Luna pondered. "And yet, even though she is a Sailorsenshi, she   
didn't go to help...."  
  
"If it had been anyone normal, Jupiter would have been able to  
deal with her all by herself...."  
  
"So either she is lying about Makoto, or...."  
  
"Someone more powerful, or at least equally powered with less  
scruples, attacked and disabled Makoto, and threatened Rei...."  
  
  
"Are you finished talking about me behind my back?" Rei said,  
without turning. Hotaru and Luna sweatdropped and peered back at   
Rei.  
  
"Well, if you're finished sulking." Luna huffed.  
  
"I'm not sulking." Rei stood and stepped over the pots,   
leaning softly against the doorway. She peered into the passage and  
rubbed her forehead. "Look, I know you think my behaviour is   
strange, but.... I can't tell you who killed Mako-chan, because....  
Because the ultimate result could be messier than things as they   
already exist."  
  
Before Luna or Hotaru could ask anything further, Rei turned   
to them and beckoned.  
  
"The coast is clear. Come on.... It's better if we keep   
moving. We don't want to get caught in here." She stepped out into  
the corridor. Hotaru sighed and stood, holding Artemis in her arms,  
and both she and Luna followed.  
  
----o  
  
LOG 3.32.22 (Dr Miriam Bartholemew)  
  
"Subject has progressed further and is now pacing about her   
cell, looking for an exit. At least, this is what her actions   
appear to represent. She doesn't have a sense of urgency about her  
and it is possible this might be another response to the psychosis.  
She has still not said anything since the early questioning, when  
there was still an element of lucidity to her mental processes."  
  
----o  
  
Kaji watched as Miki was layed out on the bunk within the   
medical room by two members of the police Dispatch Staff. The   
Police MO shook her head as she pulled aside the burnt uniform   
jacket, to get her stethoscope to the young woman's chest as the  
Dispatchers left the room, running the gauntlet of the voyeuristic  
lurkers.  
  
"With the material singed like this, I'm stunned she didn't  
receive, at the very least, second degree burns...." Kaji turned to  
Kurabuto and the pathologist, both of whom were sitting in chairs,  
shaking, but otherwise unharmed.  
  
"You say the heart crystal did this?" Kaji scratched his   
head. "The bloody thing went off with the force of a bomb!"  
  
"For all intents and purposes, maybe that was what it had   
become." The pathologist shook his head.  
  
"Next time, we make it a rule.... When we perform an autopsy  
on a Sailorsenshi, leave the heart crystal IN." Kurabuto took a sip  
of water from the plastic cup he held with quivering hands.  
  
"That doesn't necessarily mean the thing won't go bang anyway.  
For all intents and purposes, a dead Sailorsenshi could be a corpse  
bomb...." The pathologist shook his head.  
  
"Then I suggest we keep as many of the little bitches alive as  
possible, don't you think?" Kurabuto sighed and rubbed his face   
with his hand. "How am I going to explain to the Metro Chief that   
an officer on hold for disciplinary measures was injured by an   
exploding heart crystal? The girl had no place being there...."  
  
"Pardon me sir, but would you mind stoppping feeling sorry for  
yourself and start thinking of Miki's condition?" Kaji huffed.   
"The forensics people will go over the autopsy theatre with a fine  
toothed comb, if they find anything, they'll tell us...." He turned  
back to the MO, who put her stethoscope down and looked up.  
  
"There are some irregular noises coming from her chest. A   
kind of gurgling sound. However, it appeared to be declining, even  
as I listened.... Other than that, her heartbeat and breathing   
appear normal. Did she sustain any head injury?"  
  
"I did my best to stop that." Kaji sniffed and wiped his   
nose. "I can assure you, I have no idea what is going on inside her  
head for her to be unconcious like this...."  
  
----o  
  
The last few moments of slumber started to ebb from Miki's   
mind as she turned in her bed. Not a large bed, by any means, but   
it was warm and comfortable, and she didn't feel like moving from   
it, anytime soon.  
  
Still, there was so much to accomplish today.  
  
That was when she noticed things weren't quite right. What  
did she have to accomplish today? Go to her classes? She didn't  
have to go to any classes. She had a job. She was a dispatch   
officer for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, with an Associate Diploma  
to prove her university education.  
  
She sat bolt upright and stared around the room. This wasn't  
her room. It wasn't her bed, either. She turned to the nearby   
window and looked out. That wasn't the view from her bedroom   
window.  
  
She swung her legs over the side of the bed, out from under   
the covers, and stood, not quite knowing what to do next. She'd   
never seen this place before....  
  
----o  
  
LOG 4.32.22 (Dr Miriam Bartholemew)  
  
"The subject has most definitely come to in the last minute or  
so. She is pacing around, agitatedly and is thumping her fists   
against the walls. On occasion, she is looking up at the high   
observation window. I think she might try an escape attempt through  
there. A diagnostic test of her power band has been categorised   
now, and the defences are operational. Wait a minute.... She   
appears to be pulling out something.... Definitely a magical pulse  
beginning to occur.... Yes, the subject has now taken out a   
transformation pen. She has shouted something.... Like 'Venus   
planet power.... make up' I think.... There is now a major magic   
pulse signal coming from Cell 32.... Almost off the scale....   
Typical for a subject that has two combined energy wavelengths.   
There is now a change in her physical appearance. Indeed, to my  
eyes she does not appear to be the same person. Her clothes have  
changed, as well.... You wouldn't want to walk down a dark street   
in that kind of gear, I'm sure.... Um... Now she's whipping out a  
kind of chain, throwing it up towards the latch in the observation  
window. Yes.... It has taken hold. She has now leapt from the   
floor and is swinging, bouncing from one wall to the other....   
She's grabbed the latch...."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Subject is now lying across the bed within the cell. She   
appears unharmed by her fall from the window, however she is   
unconcious and will probably require some medical attention. At   
least this proves the effectiveness of the defense systems that have  
been activated...."  
  
  
END OF PART 19  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Next Chapter - "In Memory Alone"  
  
DDFA ayanami@internode.on.net  
  
  
Version 1.0 - 9th May 1998 


	20. SIU part 20: In Memory Alone

S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page)  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Bandai and Kodansya. All  
other characters were thought up by me.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The last few moments of slumber started to ebb from Miki's   
mind as she turned in her bed. Not a large bed, by any means, but   
it was warm and comfortable, and she didn't feel like moving from   
it, anytime soon.  
  
Still, there was so much to accomplish today.  
  
That was when she noticed things weren't quite right. What  
did she have to accomplish today? Go to her classes? She didn't  
have to go to any classes. She had a job. She was a dispatch   
officer for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, with an Associate Diploma  
to prove her university education.  
  
She sat bolt upright and stared around the room. This wasn't  
her room. It wasn't her bed, either. She turned to the nearby   
window and looked out. That wasn't the view from her bedroom   
window.  
  
She swung her legs over the side of the bed, out from under   
the covers, and stood, not quite knowing what to do next. She'd   
never seen this place before. It wasn't one of her friends' or   
workmates' places. The thought of waking up in an unusual and   
unfamiliar place had always frightened her, and right now, those  
fears were starting to gnaw away at her sense of place.  
  
She moved forward, towards the closed bedroom door, and turned  
when she thought she spotted a figure moving near her. It was only  
her reflection in the bedroom mirror.  
  
And what a reflection. A nice physique, coupled with   
beautiful strands of long brown hair. Pity it wasn't HER   
reflection.  
  
She thought she'd seen the girl before, somewhere, and   
couldn't quite work out where. It was only then that she'd put two  
and two together and worked out that the relection was an image of   
the body she was now residing in.  
  
She ran up to the mirror and put her hands to her face,   
feeling the texture of the flesh, running the strands of hair   
through her fingers, staring at unfamiliar eyes through those self  
same eyes.... And the height of the new body.... She was at least  
four inches taller than she had been before. It was enough to give  
her a dose of vertigo.  
  
And yet, she still thought of the body as familiar. Try as   
she might, she just couldn't match face to name. She turned away   
from the mirror, failing to notice the name etched into the handle  
of the hairbrush that sat on the mirror table in big red kanas.  
  
Makoto.  
  
----o  
  
Part Twenty  
In Memory Alone  
  
----o  
  
"Can you feel it, Sailormoon?"  
  
"Feel what?" Usagi replied telepathically to the voice that  
had invaded her thoughts. She never knew she was even capable of   
the action. More likely a link created by the invader. All she  
could think of, however, were two things.  
  
The warmth, and the pain....  
  
"Yes, the warmth and the pain. We call it the 'Wilt'. An   
interesting biological effect, is it not?"  
  
Usagi stopped at the intersection. She had managed to get   
only so far from the refinery, where that overwhelming bouquet of   
the blood and nectar mixture had rendered her dazed, when other   
strange effects had reared their ugly heads.  
  
Her stomach cramped, momentarily, and she doubled over,   
clutching it. Then the pain disappeared, to be replaced by a   
pleasurable warmth.... The warmth of immense contentedness....  
  
"What is this? Why is this happening to me?"  
  
"It isn't often that someone who is unused to the vapours of  
the liqueur's distillery receives several full lungfuls of that most  
wonderful material.... It shall be interesting to see how you react  
with this intoxication when you reach your next destination...."   
  
Usagi felt, rather than heard, the giggling.... of the owner   
of that telepathic voice. The giggle of a young girl who was wise  
well beyond her years. It chilled Usagi when she thought of the   
16 year old in the dark kimono, who had been involved in the taking   
of Minako, and who had been pursuing her ever since their short   
encounter within the orchard.  
  
"Leave me alone." Usagi's mental message carried with it her  
fear. She looked left, right and forward. Each way was dark, and  
each way smelt of must.  
  
"I intend to.... For a while, at the very least."  
  
----o  
  
"Hi, you've reached Mako-chan's phone. I'm sorry, but I can't  
answer at the moment. So can you please leave your name, your   
message and a contact phone number, if required, after the tone.   
I'll get back to you as soon as possible."  
  
Miki blinked. Mako-chan's home? Who the hell was this "Mako-  
chan"?  
  
She'd walked out of the bedroom and into the loungroom, where   
she found an answering machine with a flashing light, representing   
the fact that she had some messages to deal with....  
  
*BEEP*  
  
She wondered who would bother to send her some messages,   
especially now that she was in someone else's body. Only it was   
more likely that it would have been this person the messages were   
for.  
  
"Mako-chan, this is Usagi-chan. Don't forget the   
meeting tonight, after your college courses. We really need to talk   
to you about things. About what happened yesterday between Setsuna  
and you. Please... I don't like to see any of you fighting. Well,  
seeya then."  
  
Usagi-chan? Miki scratched her head. Who in hell would name  
their child after a rabbit? Miki shook her head and yawned. She   
felt extremely tired... lethargic. It was like her entire body was  
being weighed down by something.  
  
*BEEP*  
  
A strange feeling. Her head felt fuzzy, and she thought she   
could hear voices. She thought she recognised some.... Kurabuto,  
Akunatsuka and the like.... But there were others. Strange voices,  
with no apparent pattern of conversation. Just a jumble of   
memories, she supposed, of the person she was now inhabiting.  
  
"Mako-chan? This is Kensuke. We have got a delivery in for  
you. See us after college tonight. Don't be late."  
  
Kensuke? Was he a boyfriend, or something?  
  
*BEEP*  
  
The machine clicked to a halt. There were no more messages to  
listen to. Miki sighed and rubbed her face with her hands. A   
delivery? What did this Kensuke mean by a delivery?  
  
Miki sighed and stepped into what looked like the kitchen,   
taking a glass from the cupboard and filling it with water. Before   
she had a chance to drink it, she noticed some baking trays, sitting  
on the table in the middle of the room.  
  
She touched one. It made her feel at ease. She didn't know   
why, either. She hated baking. Everything about it just annoyed   
her. He mother used to bake like mad, spending the entire day in   
the kitchen for no good reason. And her cakes and biscuits tasted  
like crap, not that Miki ever had the brass to tell her this. Her  
mother would constantly complain about the waste of food, with her  
efforts constantly going stale before anyone had finished eating   
them. Just once in her life, Miki had wanted to tell her that the  
reason they ended up stale was because they made a good substitute  
for laxatives....  
  
  
She drank the water, feeling it slide down her throat with an  
almost lazy flow, like it had suddenly turned viscous. Time seemed  
to slow down for a few moments, and then she felt herself opening   
her eyes again.  
  
She was lying on a stretcher, being wheeled through the front  
doors of the Metropolitan Police central branch. She could see a   
couple of concerned medics, towering above her. To her right was   
the Commissioner, a grim expression on his face as he spoke to   
someone out of her view.  
  
She tried to turn her head slightly, but the world seemed to   
cartwheel. Focusing on her surroundings was nigh impossible. She   
closed her eyes, and the world faded from view.  
  
----o  
  
The Control Laboratories of the Sacred House were a bright,   
sterile relief to the dark and slightly organic feel of the   
Compound's complex and ornate internal architecture. Still, Rumiko  
was anything but fond of it. Not only did she dislike the bright  
lights of the labs themselves, she had a lot of bad memories of this  
place. It was here, in her formative years, that her body was   
treated and coaxed into behaving the rules and regulations of the  
House's codes, so the education provided to her would be effective.  
  
Long nights of painful medical experimentation, followed by   
the occasional operation, eventually brought her becoming to heel.  
But, like everyone else who had to suffer the ministrations of the  
doctors who worked there, she had been traumatised enough to become  
a virtual recluse until the age of 14.  
  
She watched as Keiko was placed into a cold glass cylinder,   
opened at the top. Her gaze was totally devoid of emotion. She had   
no more emotions in reserve to give. Sherrie was dead. Or gone to  
wherever it was their kind went to when their human physique lost   
its definition and index.  
  
And Keiko had removed that index from her. It had to be done.  
That was why Keiko had been partnered with them.... Rumiko had to  
keep reminding herself of this. She shouldn't hold it against   
Keiko....  
  
  
Doctor Marius Popplewood, an elderly man in his late seventies   
(and looking almost every one of his years) gently pulled a plastic   
sheet over the top of Keiko's sleeping form and closed the top of   
the cylinder. He reached down to a small panel on the side and   
adjusted some controls, his spindly fingers acting out their learnt   
instructions. Rumiko stared at the old man, sullenly, reminded very   
much of the fate that may, one day, lie in store for her, if she was   
not too careful.   
  
There was a humming noise from the base of the cylinder and he   
stepped back, nodding in satisfaction and muttering to himself. He  
pulled a handkerchief from the pocket of his labcoat and blew his   
nose, with a pleasantly disgusting sound of free-flowing mucus. He   
then stared at the contents of the handkerchief as if expecting to  
find diamonds, wrapped it up and roughly shoved it back in his   
pocket, still muttering. Rumiko only just recovered from her   
disgust to ask the question she'd wanted to ask before this little  
display.  
  
"Will she be alright?" Her tone was measuredly flat. He   
turned to her, smiling, waving away the two burly adjutants who had   
had the job of carting Keiko from the Operations Centre to her   
current resting place.  
  
"Well, she did just remove the bestial index from a high-class  
Resonis Major. It'll be a couple of days before she recovers." His  
voice was dry, with the croak of age. It also carried a strange   
warmth. Not surprising, since Marius Popplewood had spent a great   
deal of his life studying the phenomenon of vampirism across the   
globe before his induction into the Sacred House. Working here, on  
and with people like Rumiko, had been a dream come true.  
  
  
Rumiko mutely nodded, silently rubbing her right arm.... The   
vestigial remains of the injuries she had suffered in Nobuhiro's   
attack. After those few moments of silent thought, she turned to  
Popplewood, who had hobbled over to the other side of the lab, where  
his desk was located.  
  
"I saw her true self, you know?"  
  
"Hmm?" He glanced back at her, putting on a pair of thin-  
rimmed glasses he'd extracted from the same pocket as his   
handkerchief. Rumiko thought it a wonder that they weren't covered  
in green goo....  
  
"Her true self...." She ignored that less than tasteful  
thought. "The personality that exists underneath the disabled   
exterior." Rumiko took a breath. "Her voice still rings in my   
ears, even now."  
  
Popplewood shrugged and started shuffling through paperwork,   
searching for an admission form to complete Keiko's procedure.   
"They're an unusual bunch, the Yokuro. Each newborn is like a   
lottery. You never know how they're going to turn out...."  
  
  
Rumiko nodded and stepped forward, touching the glass of the  
cylinder.... Keiko's face seemed so peaceful. It made Rumiko feel  
more than a little angry. She checked herself again. What had   
happened to Sherrie was NOT Keiko's fault. Sherrie allowed herself  
to fall into the trap of not taking her medication. Rumiko repeated  
the thought like a psychological mantra. And the more she thought  
about it, the less likely it seemed to make sense.  
  
Sherrie had been more reliable, in terms of her taking her  
medication, than anyone else Rumiko had known. Considering the   
depth of the intimacy that had existed in their relationship, it   
should not have been surprising that she should have known Sherrie's  
behaviours so well.  
  
So there was no practical reason why Sherrie should just up   
and cease taking her medication, especially since she knew of the   
potential dangers involved. For all her personality faults, Sherrie  
had not been so stupid. Also, if she hadn't taken her medication,   
just what had happened to it? It wasn't so easy to rid oneself of a  
substance like Vasculin.... Everything, including the House's   
drains, were filtered for the purpose of checking up on the   
practices of those within.... If those filters detected Vasculin   
Orange, then it was a dead cert that Sherrie was ditching the stuff.  
  
Only they didn't. Or the filters weren't working as they   
should. Or....  
  
Or someone had suppressed the information coming from the   
filters and the garbage checks.... Someone who WANTED Sherrie to   
stop taking her medication.   
  
Rumiko shivered and shook her head. Now she was looking for  
excuses, elsewhere. As far as she knew, Sherrie could have simply  
walked out of the House's gates with the stuff in her pocket and   
dumped it in the nearest bin.  
  
  
She turned and looked at Popplewood, who was now seated at his  
desk, his back turned to her, muttering as he scribbled his next to  
illegible script upon the admission forms. Rumiko took a breath and  
padded softly over to the door. Before stepping from the lab, she  
checked the pocket that lay within her black overcoat. The stopped   
tube was still in there.  
  
Why did she have to check that? Of course it was still in   
there. She put a hand to her head and felt a moment of pain, which  
faded rapidly. She stepped from the lab, the tube's existence  
vanishing from her mind.  
  
----o  
  
Miki had only just avoided dropping the glass to the floor.  
  
Slowly, she placed it on the table, next to the baking trays,  
and sat down in the nearest chair. The world was still spinning,   
but not as badly as before, when she had her little turn. The   
little turn....  
  
"Hi, you've reached Mako-chan's phone. I'm sorry, but I   
can't answer at the moment. So can you please leave your name, your   
message and a contact phone number, if required, after the tone.   
I'll get back to you as soon as possible."  
  
*BEEP*  
  
"Jupiter! I know you're still in your apartment. You know   
who this is. Answer the phone, now! Before it is too late, answer   
the damned phone." Miki turned to the doorway leading to the lounge  
and stared at the answering machine. Who the hell was that? "Look,   
Jupiter, I can make this hard or I can make it easy.... Either you   
answer the phone, or I shall come over there and do you for a   
dinner, you understand?"  
  
Miki swallowed hard, and stood. For a few moments, she   
paused, shaking. Curiosity got the better of her, however, and she  
made her way into the lounge, hovering her hand over the phone   
receiver.  
  
"Don't just stand there like an idiot, answer the damned   
phone. I don't have all day...." The woman's voice demanded.  
  
Miki lowered her hand to the receiver, and picked it up....  
  
----o  
  
Kimi smiled as her father walked along the soft, padded   
central corridor of their home. She watched him from the relative   
anonymity of the shadows, in one of the doorways leading from the   
corridor, her fan opened over the lower half of her face.  
  
She could see the lights, shining into her eyes. The lights   
of the stage. She felt like dancing, performing to the invisible   
audience that watched her always. She backed into the darkness of   
the room and moved, keeping in time to some ancient tune that echoed  
in its elegant silence.  
  
Her arms moved with grace, a second fan appearing from the   
voluminous sleeve of her other arm. Soon, she was spinning, fans   
fluttering within the air, their exquisite artwork forming a blend   
of pale colour in the darkness. Kimi felt excited as she threw one  
of the fans over her face and spun to the open doorway.  
  
"Kimi!" Said the silhouetted figure of her father. "Do you  
dance to the music of your crime?"  
  
"What crime would that be, otosan?" She stared down at the   
edge of the fan that covered her lower face, and bore witness to the  
blood that stained it. Quickly, she snapped the fan shut and hid it  
back within her sleeve, bringing the cleaner one to bear.  
  
Midan shook his head, sadly. "For so long, I have tried to  
protect both your mother and yourself. Now look at what you have   
done. Whilst Guro was a danger to the family, his death and that of  
those who followed him shall not be ignored."  
  
  
"Why, otosan.... I have no idea what you could possibly be   
talking about." The humour in her tone was impossible to ignore.  
  
"No. I don't suppose you do." Midan put his hands on his   
hips and looked away. "I don't suppose you feel like a feast,   
tonight? We appear to have our larder overstocked with meat"  
  
"The primest choice cuts?" Kimi cocked her head to one side,   
suppressing a giggle.  
  
"I know precisely what part to give you." Midan turned and  
walked away. Kimi closed the fan and raised her head in silent   
laughter.  
  
----o  
  
"He...hello?" Miki's voice was barely a croak, and not a   
croak she recognised, like everything else about her at the moment.  
  
"Well, it is about time. At least I had the opportunity to  
catch you before you bundled yourself off to an early grave." The  
belligerant voice of the woman responded.  
  
"Na...Nani?" Miki's voice hadn't improved.  
  
"Don't pretend you don't understand what I mean. Your meeting  
with Kensuke tonight.... Don't go! That's all I have to say. Just  
stay in your apartment and wait until I get there, otherwise all   
hell is going to break loose."  
  
"Who... Who is speaking?" Miki finally managed to ask.   
There was a long pause after this question.  
  
"Are you... alright, Jupiter?"  
  
"Ju...piter?" Miki felt a strange sensation running through  
her. "I am... Jupiter?"  
  
----o  
  
Jacquie sat on the small cushion, slowly munching on the food  
that had been placed on the table before her. On the other side of  
the table, Gen and Joachim did likewise, the burly German now   
dressed in a more casual white robe, befitting the traditional   
Japanese decor of Gen's residence. There was a strained atmosphere   
permeating the room.  
  
"I never realised.... The depth of her feelings...." Gen   
stared down at the table. "They had been together, all of this   
time. And I.... The cavalier attitude with which I had regarded  
their friendship...."  
  
"Surely you saw the signs?" Joachim looked aside at his old  
friend. Gen took a breath and put down his food bowl and   
chopsticks, lying back on the soft, matted floor, staring at the  
ceiling.  
  
"They've both been troublesome daughters. I expected the  
little adventures that Naoko-chan had experienced today, but I   
thought better of Rumiko-chan...." Gen sighed. "She has a duty to  
perpetuate our line...."  
  
"What about her happiness?" Jacquie looked up from her food,  
wincing at the sharp expression Joachim had shot from across the   
table. She dropped her head. "Gomen na sai, Tani-sama."  
  
"That's alright, Maden-san. You are friend enough of this   
family to speak freely on such matters."  
  
"Arigato." Jacquie cleared her throat, suddenly feeling it  
constricting with nervousness. "I just thought that.... Rumiko  
has had to endure a lot in her life. A lot more than Naoko. Is it  
not fair that she finds herself a kind of happiness?"  
  
"She found herself a happiness, and destiny has taken that   
from her." Gen's voice was flat, making Jacquie shiver. He   
continued. "Destiny is the body we are born with. Rumiko, Naoko  
and I were all born with a certain kind of body, and Sherrie   
another. These bodies control our behaviours and destinies. Once  
the power of destiny takes over, we cannot control it."  
  
Silence fell over the trio once more. Joachim shrugged and  
continued eating, whilst Jacquie found her appetite receding.  
  
"Where is Naoko now?" Gen suddenly sat up, looking across at  
Jacquie. She jumped with a start.  
  
"Uh.... She said she was going to take some time in   
contemplation, within the orchard."  
  
Gen shook his head. "That girl.... She spends too much time  
within the orchard. I'm beginning to worry if she is listening to  
the voices of the flowers a little bit too much."  
  
"What they have to say might be the tale of her own destiny."  
Joachim didn't turn from his food. Gen looked aside at him with  
dubious eyes.  
  
There was a soft buzzing, and Joachim lowered his miso bowl,  
reaching under the table and picking up a small mobile phone,   
answering it.  
  
"Schneider." He listened to the voice on the other end,   
nodding. "I see. I'll be there as soon as I'm finished." He hung  
up the phone and placed it back under the table. "The Aino girl has  
regained conciousness, but is still in a dazed state."  
  
"What about her family?" Gen raised an eyebrow. Joachim   
smiled, turning aside.  
  
"Her family.... Yes, I think you can say we've dealt with   
them most sufficiently."  
  
----o  
  
"Jupiter, this is not a laughing matter. I know it is you,   
holding that phone. Don't play games with me."  
  
"I'm NOT Jupiter!" Miki cried, hysterically into the phone.  
"I heard what that Mizuno girl said.... Jupiter was killed, just  
under 24 hours ago...." Miki stamped her feet into the floor. "Who  
are you? What do you want?"  
  
"You MUST be Jupiter. I feel Jupiter's energies coming from  
you...." The voice sounded concerned, now.... Miki could almost   
see the face of the woman.... Slightly tanned skin, deep scarlet   
eyes, long dark-green hair....  
  
There was a buzzing sound over the receiver, and Miki could  
hear another voice, dissipating slowly over the line.  
  
"What are we going to...." It was the voice of a younger  
woman, perhaps still in her late teens. A cold sensation ran down  
Miki's spine, as she felt another presence within the room, standing  
behind her....  
  
----o  
  
Kimi watched the water drip from the verandah, outside her   
bedroom window. She clicked her fan open and shut to the soft   
sound. The same sound she heard when she had discovered her   
mother's body....  
  
"It was not a good idea to upset your father like that." She  
turned to the voice of the newcomer, a tallish woman with short,   
light hair, dressed in a sports jacket, t-shirt and jeans. For a   
moment, Kimi shivered, then gestured for her to enter her darkened   
private domain.  
  
"I did not wish to upset him. He knew it was to happen,   
anyway. Besides, it is of no concern to you, or your beloved   
girlfriend, for that matter...." She stepped over to the small   
table that sat in the middle of her room and knelt down, sitting   
poised. The newcomer shrugged and stepped over to the other side of   
the table, sitting down roughly. "I take it that you have dealt   
with the Mizuno dilemma...." Kimi asked her with wide eyes....   
Insane eyes. The newcomer tried to ignore them, yet they fairly   
glowed within the darkness.  
  
"She is now in the hands of the police. It shan't be long   
before she makes a full confession."  
  
Kimi closed her eyes, smiling. "Ah.... The honourable Doctor  
Mizuno.... If only she hadn't been so impatient. This problem   
should not have become quite so.... messy."  
  
----o  
  
Miki slowly turned. There was not only one presence, but two.  
The woman, dressed in an elegant, light blue business suit, and a   
dark-haired, pale skinned, teenaged companion, dressed in a severe,  
black skivvy and jeans.  
  
"Who.... Who are you? How did you...?" Miki croaked,   
dropping the receiver in pure terror. The green-haired woman put   
out one of her hands.  
  
"Jupiter.... It's alright. Whatever the drugs have done to  
your mind, we'll somehow deal with it...."  
  
"WHO ARE YOU?" Miki barked, taking a step back as the two   
women moved forward, tentatively. Unfortunately, the table with the  
phone was sitting behind her. She stumbled, and fell roughly over   
the top of it.  
  
"JUPITER!" Was the last thing she heard before she cracked   
her head against the carpeted floor....  
  
  
END OF PART 20  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Interesting, is it not, that nobody has noted the fact that the two  
Tani sisters are named in honour of Takahashi Rumiko and Takeuchi  
Naoko.... Oh well, now you know. ^_^  
  
Next Chapter - "Moonlight Flit"  
  
DDFA ayanami@internode.on.net  
  
  
Version 1.0 - 21st May 1998 


	21. SIU part 21: Moonlight Flit

S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page)  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Bandai and Kodansya. All  
other characters were thought up by me.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Kimi watched the water drip from the verandah, outside her   
bedroom window. She clicked her fan open and shut to the soft   
sound. The same sound she heard when she had discovered her   
mother's body....  
  
The gentle, grim dripping of her blood, having travelled   
across the floor and over the small ledge that lead to the rock   
garden. Kimi had been playing before an audience of nobody, and  
enjoying the freedom her lifestyle had given her, when she made the  
gruesome discovery.  
  
Like the good actress she was, she had put on a show of   
tragedy for the audience who heeded the calls of her horrified   
cries. She loved her mother, but her mother had been a very strange  
woman.... It never occured to Kimi that she might be, in some   
manner, just as strange.  
  
  
"It was not a good idea to upset your father like that." She  
turned to the voice of the newcomer, a tallish woman with short,   
light hair, dressed in a sports jacket, t-shirt and jeans. For a   
moment, Kimi shivered, then gestured for her to enter her darkened   
private domain.  
  
"I did not wish to upset him. He knew it was to happen,   
anyway. Besides, it is of no concern to you, or your beloved   
girlfriend, for that matter...." She stepped over to the small   
table that sat in the middle of her room and knelt down, sitting   
poised. The newcomer shrugged and stepped over to the other side of   
the table, sitting down roughly. "I take it that you have dealt   
with the Mizuno dilemma...." Kimi asked her with wide eyes....   
Insane eyes. The newcomer tried to ignore them, yet they fairly   
glowed within the darkness.  
  
"She is now in the hands of the police. It shan't be long   
before she makes a full confession."  
  
Kimi closed her eyes, smiling. "Ah.... The honourable Doctor  
Mizuno.... If only she hadn't been so impatient. This problem   
should not have become quite so.... messy."  
  
"Messy for you, perhaps..." Came the expected voice from the  
doorway. Kimi did not turn to look at the first woman's partner.  
  
"Did I ask for an opinion of my perceptions from you?" Kimi  
snapped. "The two of you only did what you had to, to prove your  
loyalty to my father. That is all."  
  
"And did we pass the test?" The woman with the long,  
aquamarine hair in the doorway asked, arrogantly. Kimi didn't allow   
herself to be baited.  
  
"Why don't you ask him. I am quite sure he is willing to   
elucidate. You might even gain a reward."  
  
"I sincerely doubt that." The short-haired woman stood.   
"What do you intend for us to do next?"  
  
"Nothing, for now." Kimi snapped her fan open and placed it  
over her mouth. "I have already arranged the silencing of the other  
witness...."  
  
----o  
  
Part Twentyone  
Moonlight Flit  
  
----o  
  
Aoi stood from the shower, allowing the water to drip from  
her body onto the floor. The cold of the air, mixed with the   
rapidly condensing water vapour filled her hazy mind with thoughts  
of the past day.  
  
It had been altogether too long.... From the moment she had  
entered the motel, where the body of Jupiter, whom she now knew as  
Kino Makoto, was found, everything seemed to go downhill. She was  
probably going to be chewed out, if not suspended, for what she had   
done with the Mizuno girl. Kaji wasn't particularly good at keeping  
his trap shut about these kinds of things. Miki was probably going  
to get the chop, too.... Poor girl.  
  
After discovering the identity of Sailormoon.... Tsukino   
Usagi, she had thought everything would go smoothly.... Soon, she'd  
have the Tsukino girl in custody, along with Mizuno.... And then   
the murder investigation would be cleared up in no time! Pity   
things didn't work out that way.  
  
She hit herself on the head a couple of times, and rested said  
head against the bathroom mirror, sighing to herself. Then there   
had been the little disaster with the ghost girl, who wasn't as   
ghostly as she appeared.... Flying all over the city, then into a  
wall at great speed....  
  
Aoi stood back and wiped the mirror, staring at her face. Her  
dark brown hair hung, wet and tangled, and her face was drawn and   
tired. What she had lacked over the last few days had been sleep.   
Excluding the little shuteye she had caught when that Hayakawa girl  
had appeared in the back seat of her car....  
  
No matter how she looked at herself, she still appeared the  
pathetic wretch she'd always considered herself being. Face too  
thin, body measurements out of proportion, bandy legs.... You name  
it, she was looking at it right now. With a shake of the head, she  
grabbed a towel from the bathroom rail and proceeded to dry herself  
with it, starting with her hair and working down her body.  
  
She felt the need for a smoke right now. She could feel the  
nicotine withdrawals already. Ignoring it, she wrapped the towel  
around her middle and grabbed another from the rail, wrapping that  
around the mess of her hair. She then reached over to her muddied  
clothes, picking them off the hook near the door.  
  
  
Something fell from the coat, rattling against the floor. Aoi  
looked down through the residual mist. The object was green, long,   
and had a kind of ringed end with a symbol in the middle....  
  
Jupiter's henshin pen!  
  
----o  
  
Miki slowly turned. There was not only one presence, but two.  
The woman, dressed in an elegant, light blue business suit, and a   
dark-haired, pale skinned, teenaged companion, dressed in a severe,  
black skivvy and jeans.  
  
"Who.... Who are you? How did you...?" Miki croaked,   
dropping the receiver in pure terror. The green-haired woman put   
out one of her hands.  
  
"Jupiter.... It's alright. Whatever the drugs have done to  
your mind, we'll somehow deal with it...."  
  
"WHO ARE YOU!" Miki barked, taking a step back as the two   
women moved forward, tentatively. Unfortunately, the table with the  
phone was sitting behind her. She stumbled, and fell roughly over   
the top of it.  
  
"JUPITER!" Was the last thing she heard before she cracked   
her head against the carpeted floor. Darkness overcame her.  
  
And then she found herself in the back of an ambulance. She  
could hear the siren wailing, the movement of the vehicle. There   
was a medic staring down at her face.  
  
"She's come round...."  
  
"What? Again?" She half-turned, and found the world spinning  
as much as it did the last time this happened. From her dazed point   
of view, she could see a suited figure, sitting next to her.  
  
"Has her family been contacted?" The medic asked.  
  
"We could only get in touch with her mother. Her father has   
passed on, apparently...." The suit replied.  
  
"Ju...." She started to say.... "Where is...." She reached  
out an arm and grabbed hold of the suited man.  
  
"It's alright, dear. Calm yourself." The medic took her arm  
and placed it back on the stretcher.  
  
"Ju...." She croaked again. "...piter...."  
  
"What did she say?" The suit looked up at the medic.  
  
"Something like 'Jupiter', I think."  
  
"Jupiter?" The suit shook his head. "What in Kami's name is  
that supposed to mean?"  
  
"She's delirious. Probably some past responsibility being   
dragged from her mind. It happens quite frequently."  
  
  
Miki felt darkness encroaching again, and she closed her eyes,  
allowing it to swamp her....  
  
----o  
  
Aoi picked up the pen and stared at it. She had forgotten it  
was in her pocket.... She had asked Kaji to give it to her, more or  
less as a keepsake of the historic occasion, of finding the body of   
a dead Sailorsenshi.  
  
Well, it had been the first, after all. things had progressed  
slightly, since then.  
  
She smiled slightly, letting out a single, soft chuckle. With  
Jupiter now dead, she wondered what the pen was hanging around   
for.... Probably waiting for a replacement to arrive. Be funny if  
she shouted out something like "Jupiter Planet Power, Make Up" and  
suddenly found herself wearing a green Sailorsenshi fuku. She'd   
never live down the embarassment.... Especially with that pair in  
her loungeroom.... Pagan and Mhare. Whatever their names were.   
She'd had more strangers in her house today than at any previous  
occasion.... She didn't like the thought.  
  
Sighing, she tucked the transformation pen in the top of the  
towel that was wrapped around her body, opened the bathroom door and  
carted her dirty clothes to the laundry....  
  
----o  
  
Miki stood in the loungeroom, dressed in a casual long-sleeved   
windcheater, jeans and sneakers, with a small backpack containing   
her study books. She was now ready to go to her classes, although   
she had plenty of time to get there.  
  
Only she DIDN'T need to go to any classes, because she had   
none. This wasn't her life. She was an officer of the Tokyo   
Metropolitan Police....  
  
Even as she thought that, it vanished from her mind. It was  
imperitive that she leave for her classes NOW. She walked over to  
the front door, fiddling for her keys, in the pocket of her jeans.  
  
She opened the front door, and heard a sound from within the  
apartment.  
  
"Hi, you've reached Mako-chan's phone. I'm sorry, but I   
can't answer at the moment. So can you please leave your name, your   
message and a contact phone number, if required, after the tone.   
I'll get back to you as soon as possible."  
  
*BEEP*  
  
"Jupiter! I know you're still in your apartment. You know   
who this is. Answer the phone, now! Before it is too late, answer   
the damned phone." Miki waited for a few seconds, then.... "Look,   
Jupiter, I can make this hard or I can make it easy.... Either you   
answer the phone, or I shall come over there and do you for a   
dinner, you understand?"  
  
The answering machine, yet again. It was the same voice as  
before. Miki felt compelled to answer it, but for some reason, she  
decided not to, and stepped through the doorway.  
  
"What the hell are you doing, you idiot? Answer the damned   
phone. I don't have all day...." The woman's voice demanded. Miki  
ignored it, shutting the door and locking it behind her.  
  
----o  
  
The world had started to get hazy for Usagi. Her body felt  
both pleasure and pain, all over, and she felt incredibly tired.   
She hugged her body with her arms, astounded at how thin they felt.  
It was as if all of her perceptions of her own physical shape were  
being warped.  
  
She stared at her gloved hand. Her fingers seemed thin and  
spindly. Not the hands of someone who was young and in the prime of   
their life. Of course, it could have been because she was so small.  
She'd never thought about her physical dimensions before, except   
when she thought she was getting fat.  
  
"Getting harder to go on, isn't it?" The invader of her mind  
said, without much in the way of concern. No, that wasn't   
technically correct.... The girl did have SOME concern, but those  
were of a purely physical nature. It sickened Usagi to think about  
it, being pursued by someone with a mind so dark.... Although the  
darkness was sectored off so very well. One would have never known  
the depths of that darkness upon pure social contact. The link the  
girl had made with her went far beyond the communications of simple  
reflection.  
  
The corridors had started to go in circles. Very soon, they  
all looked the same to her.... Corridors.... The blandness of them  
all. Their dark and musty nature, the grimy buildup along the   
walls.... Usagi fought to stop herself making contact with them....  
The stench made her physically ill, as she passed locked and bolted   
doors. Doors she had only just realised she was passing. Were   
these the cells in which they were keeping Mina-chan? She couldn't  
focus upon them, properly.  
  
"Now you seem to have reached the place Lysithea wanted you to  
reach, and in the state of mind he wanted you to be in when you got  
there...." The girl's thoughts echoed. "I find a particular thrill  
at the thought of a being such as yourself in mortal danger. Please   
do not disappoint me."  
  
Mortal danger? Usagi mustered her senses and looked from side   
to side at the doors that lined the corridor. Each and every one of   
them had grilles in them. Open grilles, through which she could see   
eyes, staring at her from the darkness that lay within.  
  
At first she thought she had hit paydirt. Cells! Cells in   
which prisoners could be kept! Lysithea had been right, after all!  
She smiled, but soon stopped after the expression made her dizzy   
with nausea. Now all she had to do was find Mina-chan amongst them  
all....  
  
She heard an exclamation of amusement, both within her mind   
and without. She turned to look behind her. A figure stood there.  
A silhouette, of the young girl who had been pursuing her, the dark  
kimono falling to the ground, covering the movement of her feet. In  
the twilight gloom, she appeared like a phantom, a spectre, floating  
over the floor without effort.  
  
"Look around you, Sailormoon. Do you think we would keep the  
likes of your comrade here?" The girl gestured, her arms   
outstretched. Usagi stared at the hands on the girl.... Small,  
soft, yet clawed. The shadow on the girl's face could not hide the  
glint reflecting from her eyes, and the whiteness of the teeth that  
glowed within the darkness. Usagi swallowed as the girl put her   
hands together in a deliberately benevolent gesture. "Go on,   
Sailormoon, look at their eyes. The eyes of our cousins.... Family  
we daren't acknowledge, lest we bring down upon ourselves the   
realisation of what we truly are. You have already seen the dead of  
such cursed creatures. Now witness the living."  
  
Shivering, Usagi managed to tear her gaze from the girl, and  
looked up at the grille in the nearest doorway. The eyes that   
stared back could not even vaguely be described as human. Visions   
of the girl with the head of an arachnid entered her mind as she   
turned from one door to the next. The eyes stared back at her with   
madness, with hatred.... and with hunger.  
  
"Yesssssssss....." The girl rubbed her hands together. "What  
do they convey to you, Sailormoon? The love that you wish to impose  
upon this world? They were never given a choice as to what they   
would become. In your perfect world, such creatures would die in   
the same pain and torment to which you have imposed upon all your  
other enemies...."  
  
A sickened pall of fear shot through her, and she turned,   
moving on, her stumbling gait faster now.... More urgent.   
  
She had been lead into this place.... Lysithea had sent her   
here.... to die at the hands of whatever lay beyond those doors.   
Kami help her if any of them had been forced open, the residents of   
those particular rooms, running free.  
  
Then, with a loud clang, all the doors around her unlocked,   
and swung open by themselves....  
  
----o  
  
Carey sat calmly at her desk, watching as documents scrolled  
across her computer terminal, feeding her information supplied by   
the operations centre in the vast hall below. Setsuna stood at the  
window, gazing down into the hubbub of activity.  
  
"A most impressive layout you have here." Setsuna turned   
aside, her expression of admiration not matching the expression on  
her face. Carey didn't bother to look up.  
  
"Better than yours, that is for sure."  
  
"We never required one. Whatever organisation we form shall   
be total in its nature."  
  
"Hmph. You were always very good in the art of the  
overstatement." Carey pressed a button on her keyboard and smiled.  
"He's made it as far as the barracks. Now THAT is impressive."  
  
"Not exactly, since you've had everyone ignore his presence  
until he reaches your office." Setsuna turned and leaned against   
the window ledge. Carey chuckled.  
  
"Yah, but his pace is wonderfully quick for someone who is,   
for all intents and purposes, in enemy territory." She looked up at  
Setsuna, then turned to the office door. "Come in, Joachim."  
  
The door opened, and Joachim Schneider, in the traditional   
white Japanese gown he had worn to dinner within Gen's residence,  
entered. He frowned at Carey. "And I only just arrived. You   
really must stop this propensity for prompt efficiency."  
  
"Oh Joachim, you flatterer." Carey smiled, nodding. She then  
turned back to her computer as Joachim registered Setsuna's   
presence.  
  
"And to whom do I owe the pleasure of this most beautiful   
lady's company?" He bowed slightly, making Setsuna blush, shifting   
on her feet uncomfortably.  
  
"Her name is Meiou Setsuna. She is an.... old acquaintance of  
mine." Setsuna was glad Carey didn't say friend.  
  
"Most pleased to meet you, Meiou-san." Joachim stepped over   
to Setsuna and took her hand, kissing it. Setsuna came close to   
spitting the dummy at Carey's knowing smirk, but somehow managed to  
contain herself.  
  
"The pleasure is all mine, I can assure you." Setsuna   
swallowed hard. She really wanted to belt Carey one, now. Joachim  
smiled at her, then turned back to Carey.  
  
"I hear a member of the Coven has invaded the walls of our   
fortress. I trust you are doing something about this?"  
  
"Never fear, Joachim, I am doing my utmost to track him down.  
In fact, I expect him to walk through my office door in   
approximately...." Carey looked at her watch. "....Eleven   
minutes. A conservative figure, of course."  
  
"Of course." Joachim dipped his head in deference. "You are  
the grandmaster of manipulation, as they say."  
  
"Thankyou."  
  
"However, this is not what I came to see you about...."   
Joachim stepped up to her desk as she rattled of some commands with  
her mouse.  
  
"The latest on the Aino girl?" Carey looked over at Setsuna,  
who had stepped up beside Joachim. The German looked aside at her.  
  
"Is it safe to talk about such things with her here?" He   
asked. Carey sniffed.  
  
"I suppose it won't do any harm. She won't be able to do much  
with the information. That's not her job, anyway."  
  
Joachim shrugged. "Anyway, I hear she has recovered."  
  
"Indeed, she has. According to the latest analysis by Doctor  
Bartholemew, we have confirmed a diagnosis. She is definitely of   
the species Succubae Major, Class 1b."  
  
"Hmm.... Rather high up in the food chain." Joachim rubbed  
his chin. "She may need to go through some of the training a lot  
sooner than we expected."  
  
"It gets better. Because of the suppressive effect of her   
being a Sailorsenshi, her basic impulses have become stronger.   
Given lease, she could be more dangerous than your common or garden  
Tani-class Wamphiri."  
  
Both Joachim and Setsuna stared at her. "That bad, huh?"   
Joachim shook his head. "We may need to up the security on her."  
  
"And use only teachers and specialists with The Blood. That  
shall suppress her desire to feed, whilst being taught how to feed  
when the time comes...."  
  
----o  
  
"Naoko-chan...." Rumiko's soft voice echoed in the darkness  
of Naoko's room. There was no response, nor could Rumiko smell the  
distinct scent of her sister, using her superfine olfactory senses.  
  
In short, nobody was home. Rumiko wondered where her sister  
could be.  
  
Without thinking, she strode into the high-walled main room,   
up to the foot of Naoko's queen-sized bed. Rumiko stared down at  
the light golden covers, matching the decor of the carpets and   
walls. Rumiko despised Naoko's love of the bright and the flashy,  
much preferring the solid depth of the maroon decor of her own room.  
Softly, she dropped the tube she had carried from the labs onto the  
end of the bed. Within it, she could see the pale red liquid,   
washing around.  
  
She turned from the bed and walked from the room, forgetting  
what she had just done, as Naoko wanted her to.  
  
----o  
  
"There, she should be alright, now." Pagan lifted his hand  
from Ami's face and flexed it. "Dammit, now I've got cramp."  
  
"Suffer and live." Mhaere, sitting across the other side of  
Aoi's loungeroom, at the small table set near her television set,  
sneered without concern. "How long shall she be out for?"  
  
"A good few hours, yet. She's just suffered and unsuffered  
cerebral damage. You can't expect things to hurry along at the pace  
you want to go. In short, suffer and live."  
  
"Touche'." Mhaere smiled as Pagan looked down at the towel he  
was wearing.  
  
"Can I have some clothes, now?"  
  
"Why don't you ask the mistress of the house?" Mhaere   
chuckled at Pagan's predicament. He sighed and plodded from the   
loungeroom, into the hallway, wandering towards Aoi's bedroom door.  
At first, he wondered whether he should barge in on her private   
domain. She could even be in the process of changing. Now that  
WOULD be embarassing....  
  
Nah, he'd heard her get out of the shower ages ago. She'd   
said something, although he didn't know what, then went silent. Oh  
well, there was only one way to find out.  
  
He stepped into the doorway. "Yo, Kikotsuka-san, have you got   
any...." He went bug eyed at what he saw.  
  
Aoi turned to him, hands clenched up to her face, which was   
the most amusing mask of tragedy he'd ever seen. She was dressed,  
from head to toe, in Sailorjupiter's green and white fuku.  
  
"It's not my fault...." She stammered. "I only did it to see  
what would happen. I didn't expect it to actually work...  
Honest..."  
  
----o  
  
Hotaru sat on the small stone pillar, staring across the empty  
grounds of the Hikawa shrine, picking at the base of her senshi   
fuku. Artemis sat next to her, equally as bored. The pair had had  
about enough of Rei's rampant paranoia.  
  
After checking through all the buildings within the temple,   
including the storage shed, of all places, Rei had decided to take a  
recce along the shrine's surrounding wall, seeing if anyone was   
hiding in the bushes and such. Hotaru had given up at this point,   
and decided to wait until Rei had satisfied herself that there was  
nobody else here. Artemis, being the great shirker of work that he  
was, and still slightly dazed from having ten times his weight of  
metal pots drop on top of him, opted to do the same.  
  
Luna, for her part, thought it best to humour Rei as much as  
possible, and look like she was taking the responsible position of  
following her around. A good twenty minutes before Rei was   
finished, however, Luna came wandering back to where Hotaru and   
Artemis were sitting, an exasperated expression on her face.  
  
"Either they're hiding really well, or she's in desperate need  
of medication." Luna plonked herself several feet from the stone.  
  
"We can't ignore the possibility that someone may come after   
her. But I think her fears may be a bit premature."  
  
"Shouldn't we be trying to get her into some place of safety?"  
Artemis looked at his two companions. "I mean, that was what you  
came here for, wasn't it, Saturn? To round her up, and anyone else  
you could find?"  
  
"Hmm.... Yes, it was. But I sincerely doubt that she's in   
the frame of mind to listen to anything I have to say...." Hotaru  
pointed to the base of the stairs, where Rei was tearing open the  
small letterbox set just inside the front gate. "I think she's   
taking this a little too far."  
  
"I HEARD YOU, SATURN!" Came the voice from across the yard.  
She angrily threw the letterbox's contents on the ground and came  
stamping up the stairs and across the yard. "I happened to be   
looking for mail bombs, if it is any of your concern."  
  
"That's just silly." Artemis sweatdropped.  
  
"Oh yeah? You think it's silly do you? Well, let me tell  
you a little something...."  
  
BANG!  
  
Blood sprayed across Hotaru's face. There was a cry of shock  
and pain....  
  
  
END OF PART 21  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Next Chapter - "Necronomicon"  
  
DDFA ayanami@internode.on.net  
  
  
Version 1.0 - 21st May 1998 


	22. SIU part 22: Necronomicon

S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page)  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Bandai and Kodansya. All  
other characters were thought up by me.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Miyuki stared at the figures, flitting through the darkness,   
with the total air of passionlessness that had followed her   
throughout her life.  
  
She sniffed and slammed the ammunition case into the handle   
section of her self-made revolver, staring at the dark metal object.  
It was the only thing she had felt any attachment to for much of her  
seventeen years of life.  
  
She looked up again as one of the figures started clambering   
over the walls, looking for someone like her. They wouldn't find   
her, of course. She had the bearing of a corpse when she wished to,  
and one of the things looked for by those pursuing her had been   
signs of life.  
  
----o  
  
Kaji sat, miserably, in the chair at Shimazaki's desk. He'd   
received word, as soon as Miki had been taken away in the ambulance,  
that both Katarin and Shimazaki had brought Doctor Mizuno in, and   
the woman had virtually confessed to the killing of Sailorjupiter.   
Now she was in one of the (albeit, more comfortable) holding cells,  
awaiting her first interview.  
  
He felt tired. The day had been, altogether, too long, and   
he'd not had any sleep since yesterday. On top of that, there   
hadn't been any word about Aoi, not since the reports of three   
figures, flying through the city, had stopped.  
  
Kurabuto had only just left, after debriefing him on the   
events at the hospital where Doctor Mizuno had worked. Any moment  
now, he expected the SIU chief to come barging in, asking a few hard  
questions about Aoi's recent activities, and he was buggered if he  
knew, precisely, how to answer them. He never truly understood   
Aoi's motives, although he'd sympathise with her, sometimes. It was  
obvious that she saw exposing the Sailorsenshi as her ticket out of  
the SIU and into a more glamourous field on endevour.  
  
Most women within the police force of Japan were prevented   
from serving on the frontline of criminal activity, their duties   
suppressed to nothing more than a public relations exercise. Aoi   
had been one to break through those regulations, and he admired her  
for that. What he didn't admire was the personality required to do   
it. Still, she WAS his partner.  
  
  
His mobile began to buzz, making him jump from his musings.   
He grabbed it from the desk and answered.  
  
"Akunatsuka...." He waited for a reply. There was none.   
Frowning, he tried again. "Akunatsuka. Who is this?"  
  
"Officer Akunatsuka Kaji of the Sailor Investigation Unit?"   
The voice was soft, almost dead. There was a slight husk to it, but  
it was definitely the voice of a young woman.  
  
"Yes, I do answer to that name. Who is this?"  
  
"The Hikawa Shrine, south of the Budan Markets. Attend the   
scene. Senshi dead there."  
  
"What did you say?" It was too late, the line had gone dead.   
Well, he thought, add that to yet another weird event to cap off a   
very weird day.  
  
----o  
  
Hotaru sat on the small stone pillar, staring across the empty  
grounds of the Hikawa shrine, picking at the base of her senshi   
fuku. Artemis sat next to her, equally as bored. The pair had had  
about enough of Rei's rampant paranoia.  
  
After checking through all the buildings within the temple,   
including the storage shed, of all places, Rei had decided to take a  
recce along the shrine's surrounding wall, seeing if anyone was   
hiding in the bushes and such. Hotaru had given up at this point,   
and decided to wait until Rei had satisfied herself that there was  
nobody else here. Artemis, being the great shirker of work that he  
was, and still slightly dazed from having ten times his weight of  
metal pots drop on top of him, opted to do the same.  
  
Luna, for her part, thought it best to humour Rei as much as  
possible, and look like she was taking the responsible position of  
following her around. A good twenty minutes before Rei was   
finished, however, Luna came wandering back to where Hotaru and   
Artemis were sitting, an exasperated expression on her face.  
  
"Either they're hiding really well, or she's in desperate need  
of medication." Luna plonked herself several feet from the stone.  
  
----o  
  
Miyuki placed her mobile phone in her jacket and brushed her   
long, black hair from her face. Her ice-white eyes had not shifted   
from the figures within the shrine grounds. That Akunatsuka person  
sounded like all of the other idiots she had faced in her life.   
Most of them were dead now.  
  
Like her family. They attempted to impose their will upon   
her. She studied them, strange objects that they were, wondering   
what drove them to do what they did. It stunned her, when she   
reached the age of understanding, that she had been spawned by them.  
She ended their lives that day.  
  
----o  
  
"We can't ignore the possibility that someone may come after   
her. But I think her fears may be a bit premature." Hotaru sounded  
less than sure of her words, but decided it worth saying, anyway.  
  
"Shouldn't we be trying to get her into some place of safety?"  
Artemis looked at his two companions. "I mean, that was what you  
came here for, wasn't it, Saturn? To round her up, and anyone else  
you could find?"  
  
"Hmm.... Yes, it was. But I sincerely doubt that she's in   
the frame of mind to listen to anything I have to say...." Hotaru  
pointed to the base of the stairs, where Rei was tearing open the  
small letterbox set just inside the front gate. "I think she's   
taking this a little too far."  
  
----o  
  
For some reason, Kaji found himself out of the office and   
rapidly pacing down the corridor, towards the elevator that would  
take him to the car park.  
  
The voice. Something about the voice seemed to drive him on.  
He'd heard that voice before, somewhere. Something to do with   
another case he'd been involved with, before he'd joined the SIU.  
  
A massacre scene. Fifteen members of a Yakuza family killed.  
All looking as if they'd not had the opportunity to defend   
themselves, each with a single gunshot would to important parts of  
the body. The division he'd worked for had been given a prior   
warning of events, by a young woman with the most dead voice that   
anyone had heard.  
  
He'd heard that voice, just then.  
  
----o  
  
"I HEARD YOU, SATURN!" Shouted Rei from across the yard.   
She angrily threw the letterbox's contents on the ground and came  
stamping up the stairs and across the yard. "I happened to be   
looking for mail bombs, if it is any of your concern."  
  
"That's just silly." Artemis sweatdropped.  
  
----o  
  
The lone figure that had been searching around the ground was   
now walking back towards the others, looking rather angry. Miyuki  
could never understand such emotions. There was no point in getting  
angry with someone. If they tried to do some negative act against  
you, kill them. It was that simple. She wondered why nobody else   
could understand. Certainly, her substitute parents could never   
understand.  
  
She bounced the revolver in her left hand, well used to its   
weight, then lifted it towards the moving figure. She had nothing   
against these people, but a job was a job, and money kept you fed   
and clothed, with a roof over your head.  
  
----o  
  
"Oh yeah?" Rei stared daggers at Artemis. "You think it's   
silly do you? Well, let me tell you a little something...."  
  
A shot rang across the ground of the Hikawa Shrine. The left  
side of Rei's chest exploded outwards, splattering blood across   
Hotaru's face.  
  
Rei stared down at the wound in shock, then let out a   
horrified cry as she tasted blood in her mouth. Hotaru leapt from   
the stone and caught Rei as the fire senshi began to lose strength   
in her legs....  
  
----o  
  
Part Twentytwo  
Necronomicon  
  
----o  
  
"Well, I must say.... Those clothes certainly look good on   
you." Pagan grinned as he stared at the short green skirt Aoi was   
now wearing. Mhaere, standing behind him in the doorway to Aoi's  
bedroom, was trying to suppress a giggle.  
  
Aoi shook her head, feeling uncomforatble with the tiara she  
was wearing. She'd twice tried to remove it, but it wouldn't leave  
her forehead. "Stop making jokes." She stared at Pagan and noticed  
the appreciative direction of his gaze. "And don't get any funny   
ideas. I very much HATE wearing sailorfukus, even one that belongs  
to a Sailorsenshi."  
  
"Hmm...." Mhaere stepped into the room and studied the design  
of the Sailorjupiter uniform. "I'd say this is something of a retro  
design. If I'm not mistaken, the Sailorjupiter fuku has made   
several stages of progression from this one."  
  
Aoi blinked, then turned to the mirror, set in her wardrobe   
cabinet. Despite hating the way the skirt and bodice hugged her   
frame, she had to agree.... This design was reminiscent of the   
original Sailorjupiter fuku, according to the photographic evidence  
she had been made to study during her time with the SIU. "Bizarre.  
Maybe the uniform develops along with the skills of its bearer...."  
Aoi snapped out of her musings and shook her head. "Iyaa! How the  
hell am I going to get out of this thing?"  
  
"Why don't you de-henshin?" Pagan smiled. Aoi stared at him,  
dubiously.  
  
"You just wanna see if all this comes flying off in the   
process, don't you?"  
  
"You read my mind." His smile was just so sweet, she wanted   
to deck him one.  
  
"Regardless.... I don't think the henshin pen has made a wise  
choice in baptising you as the new Sailorjupiter." Mhaere stepped   
up to Aoi and knelt down, tugging at the skirt. "Strange material."  
  
"It's a lovely mixture of cotton and flesh." Aoi looked down  
at her. "The clinical pathologist, back at central, did an analysis  
of the original Sailorjupiter fuku."  
  
"Cotton and flesh? Whose flesh?" Mhaere let go of the skirt   
as if she'd been playing with diseased slime.  
  
"My flesh, fool. Whose else would it be. Apparently the fuku  
creates a hybrid design, using genetic material of the wearer.   
Besides that, why do you think the pen made a bad choice?"  
  
"Because you probably don't have the Heart Crystal of a   
Sailorsenshi. Or the Star Seed. You realise you need both to be   
one, don't you?" Mhaere blinked, wiping her hand on her jacket.  
  
"Well, of course I knew about both.... But then.... Well,   
let's face it, there is only so much one can know about the   
Sailorsenshi. Without actually studying them...."  
  
"Hmm.... I thought as much. Trying to cover up your own   
investigative ineptitude with excuses...." Mhaere giggled.  
  
"ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY I'M NO GOOD AT MY JOB, EHHHHHHH!?!?!"  
Mhaere cowered as Aoi ranged over her, looking like a Fury on too   
much coffee."  
  
"Joke... joke..." Mhaere made room between Aoi and herself as  
Aoi rounded on Pagan, whose hand had somehow found it's way up her   
skirt....  
  
"Just checking for the henshin pen...." He put up his hands   
as Aoi's face went bright red.  
  
"WHAT ABOUT THE HENSHIN PEN? HENTAI! SUKEBE!" Aoi whapped   
Pagan one over the head.  
  
----o  
  
Usagi screamed as something reached out for her.  
  
She managed to crawl along the floor of the corridor, just   
missing the diseased and warped limb as it lashed out, making   
contact with the large wing-like structure on her back, tearing  
it away viciously. She felt that, and cried out in pain and mortal  
terror.  
  
The corridor seemed roll around as she glanced back at what   
she had just avoided becoming part of.... A free for all between a  
group of indescribable horrors that had emerged from the cells after  
the doors had been thrown open by some force.... Probably created   
by the dark young woman who had been toying with her for her own   
amusement. All thoughts of Minako had left her mind, now.... It  
almost seemed as if she'd never get the opportunity to rescue her  
friend, now.  
  
She swallowed and scrabbled away as something large and   
amorphous started slithering its way towards her.  
  
  
Much to Naoko's amusement, the monsters from the cells started   
to attack each other, as if fighting over a piece of their newfound   
prey. Casually, she strode between them, completely ignored, almost   
as if she didn't exist at all.  
  
All of her attentions were on Usagi. She felt something about  
this girl after making the mindlink with her. She wanted to know   
what it was that she was feeling.  
  
----o  
  
"And how are you feeling?" Shimazaki simpered with an almost   
false air of concern as he looked down at Doctor Mizuno... the woman   
sitting within the bare but comfortable holding cell, staring ahead   
as if her mind was elsewhere.   
  
She didn't even register his question as he stepped in from   
the doorway. "Mizuno-sensei?" He knelt down, and noticed how pale   
her complexion was. He could see she was trying to hold back tears   
with all her self-control.  
  
"How.... does it look like I'm feeling?" She whispered to   
him. He took a breath and nodded.  
  
"Uhh... Not particularly good. Is there anything you want?"  
  
"No thank you." Her gaze hadn't changed. "I'm quite fine,   
just sitting here. Where is Ami-chan?"  
  
Shimazaki swallowed, pausing. "Uh, she's elsewhere at the   
moment." She turned her eyes to him, making him feel uncomfortable.  
"She's safe. Really."  
  
"You're sure of that?" Her question was so pointed, he could  
feel the jab.  
  
"Hai. I'm sure she's safe. She's.... uhhh... Currently with   
a female officer." She turned her eyes, once more gazing forward.   
After a few seconds of wordless thinking, Shimazaki stood.  
  
"Well, if you're okay, I'll just take my leave and see what is  
holding up the rostered lawyer."  
  
"I won't be requiring a lawyer, thankyou." Her statement took  
him by surprise.  
  
"Umm... It's police procedure. We can't interview you   
without one...."  
  
"I won't be requiring one. It's too late for that, now."  
  
  
Shimazaki blinked at her, then tried to put on a reassuring   
smile, annoyed that she wasn't looking up at him to be reassured by   
it. "Well, whatever the case, I'll go look, anyway." He nervously  
turned and stepped from the cell. He relaxed as soon as the duty  
sergeant closed and locked the cell door behind him.  
  
"A bit chilly in there?" The duty sergeant looked at him,   
grimly. Shimazaki nodded.  
  
"Rather. I'd keep her on watch, if I were you. I think she's  
in one of THOSE frames of mind."  
  
The duty sergeant nodded. "Do you think we'll need someone to  
sit in on her?" The pair started on towards the main desk of the   
holding cells, passing towards a couple of burly officers who were  
bundling a youth into another cell. Shimazaki looked at the thin-  
faced youth for a moment as he spun around, facing the doorway.  
  
"Well, you don't have to be that rough." He bowed to the two  
officers, smiling. The duty sergeant shook his head.  
  
"That's about enough from you." He brushed the officers aside  
and grabbed the door, slamming it shut and immediately locking it.  
  
"Hey! Don't I get a cup of coffee, even?"  
  
"You'll be lucky." The duty sergeant snapped his fingers at   
the officers. "One more word out of him, and Kami help me, I'll   
forget procedure...." He turned back to Shimazaki. "Now, where   
were we?"  
  
"Who was that?" Shimazaki nodded back to the cell door as   
they made their way forward. The duty sergeant shrugged.  
  
"Just some punk.... Small time Yakuza boy by the name of  
Aba Kensuke. We've had him in here before.... Threatening small  
shop owners in Akihabara."  
  
"What's he doing in here, then?" Shimazaki blinked. "This  
isn't exactly the kind of place one locks up small timers like him."  
  
"He's in because of a raid on a local... ahem...   
establishment. He was in posession. Damned good stuff, too. Must  
have cost the locals a fair yen."  
  
"How good?"  
  
"Enough to kill you if you were stupid enough to take it. But  
at least you'd die happy...."  
  
Shimazaki rubbed his chin for a second, thinking. "Who's in  
charge of this case?"  
  
----o  
  
Hotaru dragged Rei across the yard as the cats scampered in  
every direction, seemingly all at once. Not a bad effort for two  
cats.  
  
Rei was mumbling something. It sounded a bit like "I told  
you so... I told you so..." Well, there was nothing like humility,   
thought Hotaru.  
  
For a few moments, she wondered why their attacker hadn't   
pressed her attack. It chilled Hotaru to think that the person   
wasn't all that concerned about what she did to escape, or   
retaliate. Then again, it showed overconfidence, something that  
Hotaru could use to her advantage, if it came to that.  
  
Too bad she didn't know where their attacker was.  
  
----o  
  
Miyuki wandered, slowly, around the shrine wall, arriving at  
the open gate as if unconcerned whether she was spotted or not. She  
watched Hotaru's efforts to get her wounded comrade to a safe place.  
  
She chuckled, licking her lips. She thought she recognised   
Hotaru's face from somewhere, but put that thought from her mind.   
Only one reason why she was here. No point concerning herself over   
stray memories.  
  
----o  
  
Usagi stared up into the face of a terror greater than her   
mind could have created, more indescribable than a floating mass of  
amoeba.... and cringed as barbed spikes shot out, reaching for her body.   
  
She had now managed to get to her feet.... somehow. She   
couldn't feel her feet anymore, as if all bloodflow had stopped.   
She just knew that she was higher than she had been before.  
  
Now only the amorphous object was pursuing her. The rest   
seemed more interested in each other. The benefit of this was that   
she was being chased by something that had about as much trouble   
moving about as she had. Not that that was much of benefit. The   
dark young woman who had been chasing her was only a few steps  
behind.  
  
She wondered why the thing was ignoring the girl.... And   
concentrated on her mind... the link that the girl had made to   
communicate with her. There was a kind of pulse emitting from her  
mind. A calming pulse.  
  
She tried to create that pulse....  
  
----o  
  
Doctor Mizuno couldn't hold the tears much longer. What was  
keeping that idiot police detective, anyway?  
  
"Hey! I said HEY! I want a cup of coffee. Hey! Are you   
listening to me?" She could hear the voice of the young man in the  
cell, some way down the corridor. He had been like this for some   
time, and she was starting to get annoyed with his babbling. "Oi!  
Don't just walk by.... Hey!" She thought she recognised the voice.  
But couldn't be sure.  
  
If what that officer Shimazaki had told her was the truth,   
then Ami was, at least for now, safe. She was glad happy about   
that, but knew it would only be a matter of time before someone   
caught up with her, no matter what she was....  
  
It had been some surprise to her when she discovered that Ami  
was Sailormercury. She couldn't believe that someone like her   
little Ami had lived such a stressful existence. Of course, she   
found this out in a manner she didn't want to.... And Ami had found  
out a few things about her that she didn't want known, either.  
  
Their relationship hadn't been the same, since. Not that it  
had been all that good to start with. There had always been an   
iciness between them, dating back to the breakup of her marriage....  
  
  
She could hear the unlocking of her door, but didn't bother to  
look up. Probably just another duty officer come to check on her.   
She sighed as the door swung open. Ami.... She probably wouldn't   
see her again. There was so much she wanted to say to her daughter,  
to explain things.... To explain why she did what she did....  
  
"Hello, Mizuno-sensei. I'm sorry to keep you waiting." She  
glanced upwards, and saw the gun pointed towards her head. Her eyes  
traced the arm of the gun's owner, and stared into his smiling face.  
  
"Don't you know you should never keep a lady waiting? You   
really need some work on your social skills."  
  
He giggled.  
  
----o  
  
The duty sergeant sat at his desk, tapping the end of a pen on  
a small clipboard as he watched a prisoner being escorted through   
the arrivals area from one of the cell blocks. He almost fell out   
of his seat when he heard the gunshot.  
  
"What the hell...?" He stood as the officer with the prisoner  
turned, looking at him, blinking. The duty sergeant swallowed.   
"Was that a gun discharging?"  
  
"Either that or someone is playing with firecrackers in the   
station." The officer shrugged.  
  
"HEY! HET! WHAT'S GOING ON IN HERE? WHO FIRED THAT THING?   
HEY! I'M FEELING SCARED IN HERE!" The duty sergeant could hear   
Kensuke shouting from his cell. Stepping over to the entrance to   
the holding cell block, he noticed a shaft of light, cast across the   
floor of the corridor, coming from an open door.... from one of the   
cells.  
  
Doctor Mizuno's cell.  
  
----o  
  
"Hmm? You want to have the haul tested?" Abe, the senior   
sergeant of the drugs squad blinked at Shimazaki's request.  
  
Shimazaki nodded. He'd made the request after after thinking  
things over. There had been a large amount of illegal narcotics   
pumped into the body of Sailorjupiter shortly before she had been   
killed.... Ironic that, less than 24 hours later, there should be  
a large drugs haul involving Yakuza.  
  
"Well, I suppose so, though I can't see how a connection could  
be found between that found on the SJ murder scene and what we've   
got in here."  
  
"You know, better than I do, that each shipment contains   
impurities that can be traced back to the same source."  
  
"Yeah, but still.... The amount you had found on the scene   
was so small...."  
  
  
Shimazaki didn't get an opportunity to answer that. Katarin   
entered the small Drugs Squad office with a pale expression on his   
face. Abe and the two other DS officers stared at him with   
surprise, enough to make Shimazaki turn.  
  
Katarin leaned against the doorway, breathing heavily. "For  
Kami's sake, why did you run off like that?"  
  
"Why? What's up?" Shimazaki put his hands in his pockets,   
sniffing. It was unusual for Katarin to be so worked up over   
anything.  
  
"Doctor Mizuno...." Katarin took a long breath. "Somebody   
has shot her.... She's dead!"  
  
  
END OF PART 22  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Next Chapter - "Nothing Sacred Nothing Savoured"  
  
  
Thanks to everyone for their feedback on "Across the Border".... I   
do have these occasional moments where an idea is just TOO strong to  
put off until I finish other projects. ^_^  
  
I hope to get the next chapter of AtB, as well as UID II, out this   
week. However, I might also be a lazy bastige and not do anything   
at all. Well, it all depends if the people in my life stop annoying  
me enough to give me the time to do it. ^_^;;  
  
For anyone who wishes to know, the titles of some chapters of SIU,   
such as "Sweet Seduction" and this one, "Necronomicon", refer to   
events and subjects I haven't got around to writing about, yet.   
Other things have put their ugly mugs in the way. ^_^;;  
  
-Mark-  
  
  
DDFA ayanami@internode.on.net  
  
  
Version 1.0 - 26th May 1998 


	23. SIU part 23: Nothing Sacred Nothing Savo...

S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page)  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Bandai and Kodansya. All  
other characters were thought up by me.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Kimi had been left, sitting alone in the darkness of her room.   
Those bitches thought they had been smart, trying to infiltrate her   
family with the intention of bringing it down. Those two girls....  
  
Hoist by their own petard. It amused Kimi to think about it.  
Trying to win their way into her father's affections, only to become  
involved in the murder of the Sailorslut! Oh how she despised them!  
They would all pay for her mother's suicide!   
  
All of them. Every single one of those stinking, inferior   
shits who DARED to besmirch the name of Shiranui! She would   
pleasure herself, tearing out their hearts and their minds with her  
bare hands, crushing their very souls and feeling them run between  
her fingers. Her fingers.... Her fingers....  
  
She only realised then that she was shivering. She stared   
down at the palms of her hands as they quivered. Have to control  
herself... Please regain control....  
  
Sweat ran down her face as she felt tears trickling from her  
eyes. She couldn't be dead. Not her mother. Not HER mother. Her  
mother was never that stupid.... Stupid enough to get caught up in  
the machiavellian machinations of the Sailorwhores..... And yet,   
she had been....  
  
Mustn't cry. Refuse to cry. Miyuki never cried.  
  
  
She took a breath and felt calmness wash over her body.   
Slowly, she stood from the table in the centre of her room and   
wandered over to the window, wondering how Miyuki must be at this   
time.   
  
She hated sending out Miyuki on cold, wet nights like this.  
Miyuki was the only person who truly understood her. Miyuki was the  
only person who would sit and watch her performances with any sense   
of appreciation. It was the almost death-like calmness that Miyuki  
posessed....  
  
  
She stared out at the rain and smiled. It fell in a nice,   
happy pattern. Lost children, falling to the ground. Both she and   
Miyuki were lost children.... The rain felt like kin. She reached  
out her arms, stepping through the doorway, onto the verandah that  
overlooked the stone garden.  
  
Soft lights illuminated the rocks and plants that filled the  
garden, their glow extended and refracted by the droplets that fell   
from the sky. Fall, little children. The energies of the past,   
present and future shall see you reborn....  
  
  
Then she turned and outstretched a hand, imagining herself to   
be a puppeteer....  
  
She wiggled her fingers, seeing the puppet dance across the   
floor. Then she outstretched another hand and repeated the measure  
with that one.  
  
Then one of the puppets died, falling to the floor, its   
strings severed by her will.  
  
Death is what becomes of all those who defy that will.  
  
----o  
  
The duty sergeant sat at his desk, tapping the end of a pen on  
a small clipboard as he watched a prisoner being escorted through   
the arrivals area from one of the cell blocks. He almost fell out   
of his seat when he heard the gunshot.  
  
"What the hell...?" He stood as the officer with the prisoner  
turned, looking at him, blinking. The duty sergeant swallowed.   
"Was that a gun discharging?"  
  
"Either that or someone is playing with firecrackers in the   
station." The officer shrugged.  
  
"HEY! HET! WHAT'S GOING ON IN HERE? WHO FIRED THAT THING?   
HEY! I'M FEELING SCARED IN HERE!" The duty sergeant could hear   
Kensuke shouting from his cell. Stepping over to the entrance to   
the holding cell block, he noticed a shaft of light, cast across the   
floor of the corridor, coming from an open door.... from one of the   
cells.  
  
Doctor Mizuno's cell.  
  
----o  
  
Kimi giggled as she imagined the body of the puppet on the  
floor of her room. She then turned to her other hand, still   
outstretched.  
  
"What are you going to do, hmmm?" She gently wiggled her   
fingers, as if the puppet was responding....  
  
----o  
  
"Hmm? You want to have the haul tested?" Abe, the senior   
sergeant of the drugs squad blinked at Shimazaki's request.  
  
Shimazaki nodded. He'd made the request after after thinking  
things over. There had been a large amount of illegal narcotics   
pumped into the body of Sailorjupiter shortly before she had been   
killed.... Ironic that, less than 24 hours later, there should be  
a large drugs haul involving Yakuza.  
  
"Well, I suppose so, though I can't see how a connection could  
be found between that found on the SJ murder scene and what we've   
got in here."  
  
"You know, better than I do, that each shipment contains   
impurities that can be traced back to the same source."  
  
"Yeah, but still.... The amount you had found on the scene   
was so small...."  
  
  
Shimazaki didn't get an opportunity to answer that. Katarin   
entered the small Drugs Squad office with a pale expression on his   
face. Abe and the two other DS officers stared at him with   
surprise, enough to make Shimazaki turn.  
  
Katarin leaned against the doorway, breathing heavily. "For  
Kami's sake, why did you run off like that?"  
  
"Why? What's up?" Shimazaki put his hands in his pockets,   
sniffing. It was unusual for Katarin to be so worked up over   
anything.  
  
"Doctor Mizuno...." Katarin took a long breath. "Somebody   
has shot her.... She's dead!"  
  
----o  
  
"She's dead!" Kimi said as she made gestures with the   
imaginary puppet. "And very soon, the rest of them shall follow.   
Those Sailorsluts and their families. They will know my PAIN!"  
  
----o  
  
Part Twentythree  
Nothing Sacred Nothing Savoured  
  
----o  
  
"Hello, Minako-chan, is it?" Doctor Bartholemew stared   
through the partition in the wall of Minako's room.  
  
Minako herself had been sitting, shivering, on the bed in the  
middle of the room, staring around at the high, dark walls with   
fear. She couldn't remember much of what had happened not too long  
before, but for some reason, she was now Sailorvenus, and that   
didn't bode well, especially as it seemed she was incapable of using  
her powers for the timebeing.  
  
When she heard Bartholemew's voice, she leapt from the bed and  
almost collapsed, her legs obviously not quite ready to take her   
weight. Regardless, she soldiered on and collapsed against the   
glass, pressing her hands and face into it so she could get a better  
look at the owner of the voice.  
  
"Who are you?" She stared at the woman. "Where am I?" She   
then looked at the partition. "Wait a minute.... This wasn't here  
just a few moments ago...." She turned back to Bartholemew,   
panicking. "What's happening? What's happening to me?"  
  
"Don't worry, Minako-chan.... We won't hurt you."  
  
"You know my name?"  
  
"Yes." Bartholemew nodded.  
  
"How?"  
  
"Never mind that. We know your name is Aino Minako, and we   
know where you live and who your relatives are. Don't worry, they   
have been notified of your situation and are being counseled at this  
very moment...."  
  
"That doesn't tell me how you knew my name."  
  
Bartholemew rolled her eyes. "It doesn't matter how we found  
out, does it?"  
  
"It might."  
  
"Wouldn't you prefer me to tell you why you are in this   
holding cell?" Bartholemew sighed as she sat down on the seat in   
the small observation booth, clutching her clipboard with large   
fingers. Minako eyed the woman suspiciously. She was middle aged  
and fairly well built. Obviously caucasian, with red hair that had  
specks of grey running through it. The woman wore a simple business  
dress underneath a white labcoat. Minako didn't like the way she   
looked, and decided to play dumb.  
  
"No, actually. I'd rather you tell me how you know my name."  
  
Bartholemew dropped her clipboard and facefaulted. "Oh, for   
the love of...." She picked up the clipboard and leaned forward.   
"Look, you told us your name when we asked you."  
  
Oops, Minako thought....  
  
----o  
  
"What the hell do you mean, dead?" Shimazaki managed to blurt  
out after retrieving his jaw from the carpet.  
  
"I mean she's dead. Someone's wandered into the holding cells  
and shot her." Katarin was, by now, seated in the nearest chair   
that Abe could find for him. He still hadn't quite caught his   
breath.  
  
"Oh that's just great." Shimazaki threw his hands into the   
air and started to rant and rave as he kicked various objects that   
happened to cross his path during his venting process, including one  
of Abe's meeker subordinates. Katarin and Abe sweatdropped as they  
watched him.  
  
"He really gets into his job, doesn't he?" Abe whispered to  
Katarin. The Major Crime detective rubbed his face, tiredly.  
  
"It's been a long day, and getting longer by the moment."   
Katarin rubbed a handkerchief he'd pulled from his pocket across his  
forehead.  
  
He felt sick to the stomach, and it was due to more than the   
death of Doctor Mizuno.  
  
----o  
  
"Mars.... Mars.... Please. Oh Kami.... Please still be   
with us." Hotaru held Rei in her arms, hidden amongst some bushes,  
off to one side of the Hikawa Shrine. She tried her best not to  
look at the horrific wound in the unfortunate girl's chest as rain  
filtered down through the branches, soaking the four hidden figures.  
  
Hotaru brushed her wet hair from her face, only then realising  
that there was blood on the glove. She swallowed, trying to ease  
the nausea she felt. Her own physical health was not good, and the  
combination of the conditions and the stress were beginning to tax   
her. Most of all, she wondered why she wasn't just blazing away at  
their attacker with every little spell she had up her sleeve.  
  
Because Rei was wounded, that was why. Wounded in a place   
that should have been a sanctuary from the violence of the world.  
  
But it was more than that. Something about the attacker was  
holding her back. Even though she could feel nothing from them, and  
even that seemed to remind her of somebody she once knew.  
  
  
Rei's eyes had become glassy, staring into space, and her   
complexion had gone white. However, she was still breathing. A  
deep, rasping breath, but it was still there. Hotaru did her best  
to ignore everything she'd learnt about the "death rattles", as  
Rei's mouth started to form soundless words.  
  
"What is it, Mars?" Luna, who was sitting on the other side  
of Rei, absolutely and positively tortured by the unpleasant   
sensation of the rain on her fur as all good cats would attest to,   
leaned an ear close to Rei's mouth.  
  
"A...mi..."  
  
"What? What about Mercury?" Luna placed a paw on Rei's   
shoulder, trying to will the girl into continuing.  
  
"Will.... They... will..." Blood ran from the sides of Rei's  
mouth as she started to hack and cough, her chest seemingly seizing   
up. A look of fear and horror crossed the faces of both Luna and   
Artemis as they looked up at Hotaru.  
  
  
"No... I can't..."  
  
"You've got to, Saturn.... Your powers of healing are all   
that will save Mars. We can't take her to a hospital, lest her   
identity be exposed, but we can't let her die." Luna's gaze became   
stern. "We must know who this enemy is that frightens her so   
much.... And to do that, we must assure her a continuing life."  
  
"And that enemy is probably stalking us right now." Artemis,   
who was standing some distance away, looked back into the shrine   
grounds, nervously. The dim glow of the city lights, reflecting off   
the thick clouds and rain gave the darkened shrine an eerie   
appearance, as if all life had been stripped of it. "We can hide   
here, but we daren't stay here for long."  
  
"Whatever the case...." Hotaru lowered her right hand over   
Rei's wound. "I'm using this power under protest. I hate the way   
it makes me feel...." She shivered as she started to channel her  
healing powers into Rei. "It's like having slugs slithering along   
my every nerve. I hate to think what it's doing to me."  
  
  
Luna watched with fascination as a pink-orange glow emerged  
from Hotaru's hand, entering Rei's body through the wound. Then  
Hotaru took hold of her right wrist with her left hand as the   
channeling started to affect her.  
  
"Oooohhh Kami.... Oooohhhh I hate this...." Hotaru closed  
her eyes and lifted her head back. Her body started to quiver and  
she let out soft moans of discomfort.  
  
  
Artemis stepped up beside Luna as they watched Hotaru. "I   
never knew her healing powers caused her this much distress." He   
whispered softly.  
  
"It's been getting worse with each passing year. Kami knows  
why. The power itself is.... Well.... It's hard to say, really.  
I'm not sure whether it is connected to her powers as Saturn or   
not." Luna turned aside to him, frowning.  
  
"Your saying the power is independant?"  
  
"I'm saying that it may not be part of her complement." Luna  
turned back, ignoring Artemis's questioning expression.  
  
He shook his head and turned back to the shrine grounds. "Uh,  
guys.... I think we might be in a pretty pickle here."  
  
Luna turned, annoyedly. "What is it now?"  
  
"Rei's Grandfather and Kumada-san.... They've just returned   
to the shrine.  
  
Luna sweatdropped.  
  
----o  
  
Miyuki watched the pair return to the shrine grounds, both  
pondering on the darkness within. No thoughts ran through her mind.  
There was nothing to think about. Merely more to add to the final  
bodycount.  
  
She watched as the taller one opened up the main residence and   
switched on the lights. He was kind of scruffy.... No waste there.  
And the other one that followed him in, carrying a couple of   
bags.... Well, he was old. His time was up.  
  
She shook her head, wondering why she was even bothering to   
justify killing them. She hated it when these little threads of   
morality shot through her cerebrum. It hurt, sometimes.  
  
  
She checked her position, then clambered down the hillock,   
towards the group of trees and bushes that the quartet had opted to  
hide in. Grabbing a small elastic strip from the pocket of her   
jacket, she tied back her hair. The rain had made it damp, and it  
was clinging to her face, which was a distraction.  
  
She could see a glow within the bushes as she finished.   
Cocking her head to one side, she felt the glow to be familiar. For  
some reason, she felt a strange attraction to the glow, like it was  
drawing out of her some emotional response.  
  
She didn't acknowledge the response. It meant accepting the   
illogical dreams of past lives that she'd had since childhood....   
Dreams were a waste of time trying to interpret, as were the   
emotions that came with them.  
  
She continued on into the outcrop.  
  
----o  
  
"How could you even THINK of doing that, you bastard! What   
kind of freakin' pervert are you?" Aoi had Pagan backed up against  
her bedroom wall, hands either side of his head, leaning forward and  
baring her teeth. Pagan didn't know whether to accept this as a   
comfortable situation or not.  
  
"It was just a joke, okay?" He could feel her breath blowing  
into his face....  
  
"Some fuckin' joke.... One moment you're clamping your mouth  
over mine, in what can't even be vaguely described as a kiss, within   
the ladies room at the Tokyo Metro, the next you're stickin' your   
hand up the skirt I'm wearing...." He winced as he felt a momentary  
stab of pain went through his head. Opening his eyes, he decided to  
use attack as defence.  
  
"Hey, don't blame me that the Coven chose to match us..."  
Pagan managed to push Aoi aside and stepped over to her bed, sitting  
on it. After a couple of pats, he smiled and looked back up at her.  
"Hey, comfy. Care to join me?"  
  
Aoi rolled her eyes. "Don't start that up. I've had enough   
of this brood mare crap already. Both from you and those two girls  
from the Sacred House."  
  
"Which two girls?" Pagan frowned at her.  
  
"Yes...." Mhaere stepped forward, having been silently   
watching the proceedings with much amusement. "Yes indeed. What  
two girls might these be?"  
  
Aoi looked from one to the other. "Didn't I tell you,   
already?" They shook their heads.  
  
----o  
  
In the loungeroom of Aoi's apartment, Ami sat up from the   
lounge suite and stared at her surroundings. For some reason, her  
head felt clearer than it had been, before.  
  
She turned to her left and saw a young, light haired caucasian  
girl, sitting slumped in a lounge chair. Her initial reaction was   
to help her, but some niggling little thought from the back of her   
mind told her not to.  
  
Quickly and silently, she stood up and smiled. The house   
looked nice and neat, and so very liveable. So much better than the  
overwrought mansion house that was her home. Anyway, her mother's   
job paid for that, and her mother was a crook. She giggled softly  
and stretched, feeling amazingly refreshed. It was almost as if an  
aspect of her had come to life for the very first time....  
  
----o  
  
"Hayakawa Arisa and Maria Firenze." Pagan shook his head and  
lay back on the bed, chuckling. "Yes.... Nobuhiro and Michelle had   
been keeping an eye on them, to the best of their ability." He   
gestured in the direction of the loungeroom. "Gwen Wright is their   
partner. I guess they won't be too pleased about what you did to   
her."  
  
Aoi took a breath and shook her head. "None of that matters.   
I don't care what your people at the Coven of whatever it's called   
think, I'm not like you and I don't have any powers of my own. I've  
never displayed any such powers and never will."  
  
"So who was it that was controlling your flight when Gwen was   
unconcious?" Mhaere stepped right up to Aoi, staring her in the   
face, giving her a bit of her own medicine back. "A Mind Predator,   
I think, is the term they used for you."  
  
"How would you know?" Aoi stared back at her.  
  
"Ouch." Mhaere retreated, holding her forehead with a hand.   
"I forgot what it can feel like when an MPred questions you so   
directly at such a close range...."  
  
"What she says is correct, Kikotsuka." Pagan crossed his   
arms. "If she is telling the truth, since I didn't see it.... But   
if you had managed to knock Wright unconcious, and the Mizuno girl   
was already out of it, then there was only one person with the power  
to generate your flight capabilities."  
  
"Or, at the very least, tap into Wright's abilities and give   
them motivation whilst she was in lala land." Mhaere added.  
  
"It also explains how you were capable of using Jupiter's   
henshin pen. Your powers merely tapped into the pen's henshin   
instructions, despite the fact you are, clearly, not Sailorjupiter.  
I sincerely doubt you have been chosen to be her successor."  
  
Aoi shook her head, disbelievingly, gesturing to the green and  
white senshi fuku she was wearing. "Oh yeah.... Well if I'm not   
Sailorjupiter, who the hell is?"  
  
----o  
  
Miki felt rather silly, wandering along the street, making for   
the rail station. Silly, because she knew, at the back of her mind,   
that she had her own bloody car, probably sitting in the multi level   
carpark at the Tokyo Metro building.  
  
She stopped in the middle of the footpath, almost having   
people run into her. She didn't care. Staring at the ground, she   
thought things over.  
  
Where was she when this began? In the observation room. The  
observation room of the autopsy theatre, sitting in a chair.   
Sitting in a chair, with Akunatsuka Kaji standing next to her. And  
then there was an explosion. And then something struck her in the  
chest. And then....  
  
"Yo." She didn't hear Haruka's voice at first, and wondered  
why the woman's face appeared in her view. "Earth to Kino-san."  
  
Miki snapped her head up in surprise. Before her stood   
Haruka, leaning forward, and Michiru. "Who...." Her voice croaked   
and she stopped as Haruka stood up, hands in the pockets of her   
slacks.  
  
"Are you alright, Kino-san? You appear very pale." Michiru  
took Haruka's arm. Miki put a hand to her head. Why did she know   
their names? Why did she know that Haruka was a woman, not a guy,   
as she appeared to be? Other than that, they were the perfect   
couple.... They WERE the perfect couple. Just not the kind of   
perfect couple Miki was used to.  
  
"Kino-san?" Miki blinked. "I'm not.... My name is..." She  
felt a moment of sheer illogical fear and brushed past them,   
quickly.  
  
They watched her go, blankly.  
  
"Do you think she's finally losing her mind?" Haruka looked   
aside at her partner.  
  
"It would seem so.... Perhaps she was not that bad a choice,  
after all. We'd be doing her a favour." Michiru's face dropped.  
"Still, we'd be going against everything we stood for."  
  
"Our duty has never been about protecting the other senshi.  
It's about protecting the kingdom, and bringing about its   
resurrection. As long as the Princess is safe...." Haruka's voice  
faltered.  
  
  
Miki felt this entire conversation within her mind, as if she  
had been standing next to them. That wasn't possible. She shook   
her head, painfully, as she approached the entrance to the rail   
station. Kino-san.... She knew the name. She knew it.... Where?  
  
----o  
  
The horror had smothered her.  
  
Usagi opened her eyes and found herself lying under the thick  
covers of an extremely comfortable bed.  
  
The horror had flowed over her body and smothered her.  
  
She felt clean.... Like she had been cleansed of something.  
Her head was still a little hazy, but that was clearing. It was an  
incredible haziness, too.... Trickling down from the top of her   
scalp, down through her neck and flowing into the rest of her body.  
It was warm and comfortable, and it weighed down her limbs. That   
was alright by her.... She didn't want to move them.  
  
"How are you feeling?" Said the soft voice of the young,   
dark-haired girl who was sitting on the edge of the bed, next to   
her. She recognised the girl as the one who had been chasing her   
through the corridors of the Sacred House compound, the one who   
had taken Minako.... She turned and did her best to smile at the   
girl.  
  
"Not bad. I've felt worse." She was surprised by how soft   
her voice was. It was then she noticed that, not only herself, but   
the other girl were completely naked.  
  
"That's good." The girl smiled and giggled, then leaned down  
and kissed Usagi on the lips.  
  
Usagi was surprised to find that she couldn't muster the   
energy to resist.  
  
So she didn't.  
  
  
END OF PART 23  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Woah.... Incipient lemon scenes in SIU.... ^_^ Stay tuned to see  
if anything actually happens.... ^_^;;  
  
Next Chapter - "Dreams of Succulence"  
  
DDFA (The Right Dishonourable Mark A Page) ayanami@internode.on.net  
  
  
Version 1.0 - 6th Jun 1998 


	24. SIU part 24: Dreams of Succulence

S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page)  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Bandai and Kodansya. All  
other characters were thought up by me.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The horror had smothered Usagi.  
  
Naoko watched as Usagi opened her eyes and stared down at the   
thick covers of an extremely comfortable bed.  
  
The horror had flowed over Usagi's body and smothered her.   
But it really wasn't a horror at all. However, Usagi wasn't to know   
that, as "Cthulu" Kanzaki gave her a big, smooching kiss....  
  
Needless to say, Usagi had passed out.  
  
And so, Naoko cleansed her, inside and out. The little   
phial of the concentrated blood liqueur base that she had applied to   
Usagi's lips, after she had showered off the vestiges of Cthulu's   
spit from the unfortunate senshi's face and neck, would have left   
her head a little hazy, but that would clear rapidly.  
  
It had also supplied Naoko with the final piece of evidence   
that she'd required to complete her suspicions about Usagi. Very   
few of those with normal blood could survive downing an entire phial  
of the blood liqueur base.  
  
  
She felt a little jealous of Usagi, remembering the incredible   
haziness that she had felt when first supplied with the base to   
control her urges. Trickling down from the top of her scalp, down   
through her neck and flowing into the rest of her body. It had been   
warm and comfortable, and it had weighed down her limbs. She   
watched as Usagi settled into the bed, pulling the sheets up around  
her naked frame, dreamy expression on her face.  
  
"How are you feeling?" Asked Naoko of Usagi, sitting on the   
edge of the bed, next to the senshi. Usagi recognised her   
immediately as the one who had been chasing her through the   
corridors of the Sacred House compound, the one who had taken   
Minako.... Almost immediately, Naoko felt attracted to the mixture  
of fear and unconcern that was written on her face.  
  
Those eyes, she thought.... The eyes of prey, to be feasted   
upon, or of those who had been bred to bleed for her training.... A  
mixture of hesitation and desire.... Naoko shivered for a moment   
and did her best to suppress those feelings. Even if her soul was   
thousands of years old, her body was far too young for her to   
indulge in those kinds of practices, out of the control of the   
teachers.  
  
  
"Not bad. I've felt worse." Usagi seemed surprised by how soft   
her voice was. It was then she noticed that, both she and Naoko were   
completely naked. Naoko shrugged, inwardly.... How else was she   
going to wash the girl without getting undressed, herself? Still, she  
could read Usagi's thoughts. Of what Usagi thought was happening.  
  
"That's good." She giggled, amused at the ecchi   
interpretation Usagi was giving these events. Oh well, she thought,  
no point wasting the opportunity.  
  
And before she realised what she was doing, she leaned down   
and kissed Usagi on the lips.  
  
She was surprised to find that Usagi didn't resist.  
  
Her mouth started to water, finding a monumental thirst   
building up, already....  
  
----o  
  
Part Twentyfour  
Dreams of Succulence  
  
----o  
  
"Wouldn't you prefer me to tell you why you are in this   
holding cell?" Bartholemew sighed as she sat down on the seat in   
the small observation booth, clutching her clipboard with large   
fingers. Minako eyed the woman suspiciously. She was middle aged  
and fairly well built. Obviously caucasian, with red hair that had  
specks of grey running through it. The woman wore a simple business  
dress underneath a white labcoat. Minako didn't like the way she   
looked, and decided to play dumb.  
  
"No, actually. I'd rather you tell me how you know my name."  
  
Bartholemew dropped her clipboard and facefaulted. "Oh, for   
the love of...." She picked up the clipboard and leaned forward.   
"Look, you told us your name when we asked you."  
  
Oops, Minako thought.... "Is that so? I don't believe you."  
  
"Well, it is the truth. As soon as we brought you here, we   
injected you with a dose of Vasculin, thus bringing you back from   
the edge of your becoming...."  
  
"What is Vasculin? Is it a drug?"  
  
"Yes. We only give it to certain people." Doctor Bartholemew  
smiled, finally seeming to be getting somewhere with her troublesome   
patient.  
  
"How is it made?" Minako stared dumbly at Bartholemew.  
  
"That is irrelevant."  
  
"No it isn't. I want to know how it's made."  
  
"Why would you want to know how it's made? Wouldn't you   
prefer to know where you were?"  
  
"Not really. I'm more interested in this Vasculin stuff."  
  
Doctor Bartholemew rubbed her face. "Look, I don't have the   
time to explain it to you..."  
  
"Make time. I wanna hear." Minako turned to her left, found  
a cushion, pulled it over and sat cross-legged on it as Bartholemew  
prayed to the gods. "By the way...." Minako started, smiling.   
"Did you tell me your name?"  
  
"Umm.. It's Bartholemew. Doctor Miriam Bartholemew."  
  
"That's a nice name. Did you get it from your mother or your   
father?"  
  
"My father gave it to me, actually.... It was the name of   
his.... What is the point of this question? I'm the one who is   
supposed to be asking you the questions." Miriam held onto her   
clipboard, tightly.  
  
"It was the name of his what?" Minako cocked her head to one   
side, questioningly.  
  
"What was the name of his what? What are you talking about?"  
Miriam felt sweat trickle down the side of her face as Minako rolled  
her eyes.  
  
"Your father gave you the name Miriam, didn't he?"  
  
"Yes. So?"  
  
"So Miriam was the name of his.... Mother?"  
  
"Yes, it was the name of his mother. What does this have to   
do with anything?"  
  
"So, you were going to tell me about the Vasculin...."  
  
  
Miriam let out a groan and dropped her clipboard again,   
putting her face in her hands. "Oh for CHRIST'S SAKE! Will you   
just SHUTUP about the FUCKING Vasculin and answer my questions?"  
  
"Aww.... I really wanted to know. You're just being cruel to  
me." Minako turned and put on a sulky expression as Miriam lifted   
her face.  
  
"There is NO point in arguing this point, Aino-san. We know  
everything about you."  
  
"How do you know I was telling the truth, eh?" Minako said,   
her bottom lip drawn up in the sulkiest expression Miriam had ever   
seen.  
  
"Because we've confirmed with your parents that you are   
missing. You went missing from your bedroom today, after your   
mother sent you to bed with what we know to be the early warning   
signs of an incipient becoming."  
  
"I could have set them up for this. It could all be a lie."  
Minako huffed. Miriam picked up her clipboard, feeling like she was  
beginning to get on top of the conversation again. "Are you sure   
you aren't going to tell me about the Vasculin?"  
  
  
Miriam growled and thumped her hands against the glass.   
"Yes!"  
  
"Yes you are or yes you aren't?"  
  
"Yes, I am sure that I am sure I am not going to not tell you  
about the Vasculin. Do you understand?"  
  
"What was that you said?" Minako looked at her strangely.  
  
"Eh?"  
  
"How am I going to know if you're going to tell me about the  
Vasculin or not if you're going to answer MY questions like that.   
If you want me to answer yours, then do so with some semblance of  
hilarity.... I mean clarity." Minako giggled. "I get those words  
mixed up all the time, gomen...."  
  
"I really couldn't give a stuff about the frigging Vasculin!   
I mean, if you don't stop messing around and just answer the goddam  
questions, I'll have to set the security system on you again, do you  
understand?"  
  
"What security system would that be?" Minako frowned at her.   
Miriam smiled and sat back, reaching her free hand down underneath   
her seat.  
  
  
Minako felt sparks on energy flowing through her. She let out  
a cry of pain and agony as she fell from the cushion, writhing over   
the floor. Miriam watched, a slight smile on her face as the energy  
visibly crackled around Minako. Her hand hovered under the button   
for longer than was really necessary. It was only the senshi powers  
that Minako contained that kept her concious throughout this ordeal.  
  
Eventually, Miriam pressed the button again, and the energy  
dissipated. Minako lay on the floor on her left, saliva drooling   
from the corner of her mouth as she stared at the wall, trying to   
bring herself back to her senses.  
  
"So, how does it feel to become the victim of an artificial   
ghost in full corporeal rape mode? Pleasant, I think not." Miriam  
smiled and took a pen from the pocket of her labcoat, making some   
notes on her clipboard. Minako lifted her head and stared at Miriam  
with eyes of supreme hatred.  
  
----o  
  
"W.... Waitaminute...." Usagi pushed Naoko away. "This   
isn't.... I'm not...."  
  
Naoko giggled, sitting back. "Oh, you are a funny one. One  
moment you're willing, the next...."  
  
"I'm not into that kind of thing, okay? I..." Usagi tried to  
sit up. As it was, she did this far far too rapidly, and ended up  
seeing stars for about a minute, flat on the bed. Naoko   
sweatdropped and stared at the phial which she was still holding in  
her right hand.  
  
"Hmm.... Might have been a bit too much. Oh well." Naoko   
happily jumped off the bed and padded across the large, gilden-  
walled bedroom of her private quarters. She stopped at a small   
vanity unit and placed the phial on top, then turned and waited for  
Usagi to start coming round.  
  
Almost like a signal, Usagi groaned and sat up again, slowly,  
this time. Naoko wandered back to the bedside and knelt down,   
watching Usagi. Her fair and healthy skin. The sound of the blood  
pumping just underneath....  
  
"Nani?" Usagi looked down at Naoko's loving expression with  
distrust. Naoko put on a cute smile.  
  
"Oh, just admiring certain features about your body. The way  
you look and all that." She giggled, making Usagi sweatdrop.  
  
"You're the one who set those monsters onto me. You're the   
one who kidnapped Minako...."  
  
"I'm the one who saved you from Minako." Naoko shrugged. "I  
guess you don't yet understand what has happened to her."  
  
"What? What has happened to her? Have you killed her?"  
  
Naoko opened her eyes and stared at Usagi in surprise. "Kill  
her? Why would we want to do that?"  
  
"Because that guy said.... That Lysithea guy said...." Usagi  
blinked as Naoko rolled on the floor, clutching her sides with   
mirth. "What's so funny?"  
  
Naoko managed to contain herself and sat up again. "What's so  
funny? You NEED to ask me such a question? I just can't believe   
you'd be so stupid to believe a jerk like Lysithea Caprice."  
  
"Who are you calling stupid?" Usagi tried to swing her legs  
around, to step onto the other side of the bed from Naoko. But her  
legs just weren't working. She was trapped in this girl's presence.  
"Who are you, anyway? What did you do to me?"  
  
"Oh, I'm so sorry. Here we are, both naked to each other and  
I haven't even bothered to introduce myself. My name is Tani Naoko.  
I am a member of the sacred Tani clan." She got to her knees and   
bowed to Usagi. "I apologise for the way we have met. It has been  
rather.... less than conventional."  
  
"You set those monsters onto me.... Especially that big,   
amorphous one!" Usagi tried to lift an arm to point to her   
accusingly, and failed. Naoko shrugged.  
  
"I wanted to test you, Sailormoon. I wanted to see what you  
were capable of. Unfortunately, Lysithea sent you through the   
distillery, and very few who are of our blood survive breathing in  
the fumes of that place...."  
  
"But...." Usagi started to panic. "I breathed it in.... Am  
I going to die?"  
  
"Oh, hardly, I think. I gave you a dose of the blood liqueur  
base.... What we make Vasculin from. Only those with our blood are  
capable of dealing with that. And you passed, I'm afraid."  
  
"But.... I'm not of your blood. I'm a Sailorsenshi. I am   
the Princess of the Moon Kingdom.... The reincarnation, no less."  
  
"Oh, so that's what you are?" Naoko smiled dubiously.   
"That'll make for interesting news when I next see Joachim."  
  
"I mean it, I'm not one of your.... 'blood.'"  
  
"So why was your friend, Minako?"  
  
  
Usagi opened her mouth to answer that, but realised she didn't  
have an answer.... In fact, she had a lot of questions.  
  
----o  
  
Aoi shook her head, disbelievingly, gesturing to the green and  
white senshi fuku she was wearing. "Oh yeah.... Well if I'm not   
Sailorjupiter, who the hell is?"  
  
"Well...." Pagan started, sitting on Aoi's bed. "All things  
being equal, and with what we know about the Sailorsenshi, nature   
very much abhors a void, and with the murder of Sailorjupiter, a   
void has been created."  
  
"One that has probably already been filled, and not by you."  
Mhaere continued, standing to Aoi's left with crossed arms.  
  
"But I'm the one wearing the sailorfuku." Aoi shook her head.  
"It can't be that this.... power of mine, that you say I have and I  
haven't yet accepted it as the truth.... This power has merely   
tapped into the instructions of the henshin pen and changed me into  
Sailorjupiter without the powers."  
  
"Amazing! I think the girl's got it." Pagan snickered.   
"Maybe we should make a Mensa application for you."  
  
"Don't get smart with me." Aoi huffed, looking daggers in   
Pagan's direction. He stood from her bed and shrugged. "Very well,  
if you don't want my help...." He stepped between Aoi and Mhaere   
and left the room.  
  
Aoi took a breath. "That still doesn't tell me how I'm   
supposed to change back. I've tried to get this frigging tiara off  
my head and it just won't budge."  
  
"Have you thought of asking the suit to please give you back   
the henshin pen so you can detransform?" Mhaere looked at her,   
dubiously. Aoi almost laughed.  
  
"What? Me? Ask the suit? Yeah, right." She sneered. "Oh  
please, Miss Sailorfuku, give me back the henshin pen and   
detransform me...." She shook her head. "As if that would work."  
  
In a flash, she was wearing a blouse, jeans and a pair of   
sneakers again, holding onto a green henshin pen. After a few   
moments of disbelieving blinking, she noticed that Mhaere was   
nodding with satisfaction.  
  
"Don't you DARE laugh, or I'll belt you from arsehole to   
breakfast time, understand?" Aoi held up the fist holding the   
henshin pen.  
  
----o  
  
Pagan shook his head. Did the Coven REALLY think that he and  
Aoi were that good a match? She was the most overstressed and   
obnoxious woman he'd ever met.  
  
Stepping away from the door to the bedroom, he wandered up   
along the hallway and through the loungeroom. For a moment, he felt  
that something was missing. Shaking it off, he stepped into the   
kitchen, feeling a tad hungry.  
  
As he reached into Aoi's pantry, set above the kitchen bench,   
he realised he was still wearing nothing more than a towel. "Aww  
jeez.... I was going to ask for some clothes...." He sighed,   
resigning himself to the fact that he was probably going to be   
wearing women's clothes until he found something more appropriate.  
Lysithea would have a field day if he saw him.  
  
He grabbed a packet of crackers from the pantry, just as he   
felt a pair of arms wrap around his middle. He dropped the crackers  
onto the counter and turned his head with a silent gasp.  
  
"Why hello there." Said Ami with a dreamy smile.  
  
"Mi... Mi... Mizuno-san?" Pagan opened his eyes widely.   
"What are you...?" he then remembered what it was that he'd missed  
in the loungeroom.  
  
"Oh, Mister.... I'm so sorry if I seem a little forward, but   
I just couldn't help myself." Ami giggled. Pagan swallowed. Was  
this behaviour a product of the healing process he'd performed on   
her damaged brain? He turned, trying to wiggle his way out of her  
grasp, only to find she was a hell of a lot stronger than she   
looked. "Where are you going, Mister?" She pushed him back against  
the counter, leaning her face close to his.  
  
"Now now now.... This isn't good social behaviour, Mizuno-  
san. And besides, we have company in this house...."  
  
"So what?" Ami giggled. "Oh, you are so very pretty....   
Such beautiful eyes and hair.... Such a lovely body.... And..."  
Ami put a hand down and Pagan felt a portion of his anatomy being  
squeezed. "Well.... What else can be said about that?" She   
smiled, putting the hand back around Pagan's neck.  
  
"I dunno...." Pagan squeaked, still in pain.  
  
  
"JUST WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON, HERE?" Pagan and Ami glanced  
at the kitchen doorway, where they could see Aoi and Mhaere fuming.  
Aoi was cracking her knuckles.  
  
"What does it look like, Kikotsuka-san?" Ami sneered at Aoi.  
"Go away, before I show you what a Sailorsenshi can do."  
  
"Uh.... Aoi.... Mhaere.... This isn't what it looks   
like...." Pagan croaked.  
  
"You bastard...." Aoi growled. "We turn our backs on you for  
just ONE moment, and you're testing the waters with someone else."  
  
"Perhaps we should reduce the stallion to a gelding, for the  
good of womankind?" Mhaere sniffed, turning to Aoi.  
  
"I'll give him gelding." Aoi thumped a fist into her other   
hand. Ami sniffed contemptuously.  
  
"The both of you are just jealous. I went for him first. You  
two can have slops when I'm done. Now BEGONE!" She waved a hand in  
their direction.  
  
"What did you SAY?" Aoi and Mhaere chorused in unison.  
  
----o  
  
Minako managed to crawl back to the cushion, watched by Miriam  
with obvious amusement. Slowly, she dragged her body onto the   
cushion and sat there, shoulders hunched, her hair hanging over her  
face.  
  
"So, are we ready to continue with the session?" Miriam asked  
offhandedly, as if nothing had happened. Minako raised her head   
slightly, but Miriam still couldn't see her face. "I'll take that   
as a yes, then."  
  
Miriam sniffed and scratched her nose. "Now, do you know   
where you are?"  
  
"In hell?" Minako croaked. Miriam smiled.  
  
"No, sorry. I'm afraid you aren't that lucky."  
  
"How lucky am I, then?"  
  
"Now now, don't start asking me silly questions again, or it's  
the security system for you again."  
  
  
Miriam jumped as Minako slammed her fists against the window,   
staring in at her with reddened, teary and maddened eyes. "Now you  
just listen to me for a second. I don't know who the hell you are,  
or what I'm doing here. But, by Kami, if I ever get out of this   
place, I will KILL you, do you understand me, bitch?"  
  
"Are we finished?"  
  
"Did you hear what I say?"  
  
"Yes, and I chose to ignore the statement."  
  
Minako shook her head, sneering. "No. No. Don't ignore what   
I say.... Because it doesn't matter how long it takes. Days,   
months, perhaps even years.... You'll let me out of here,   
eventually. Eventually! Do you understand. You'll think I'm   
capable of being trusted, and you'll let me out of here. And when  
that day comes, bitch.... When the day comes when nobody is   
watching out for me, I'll kill you. I'll spread you like a fine   
paste over the walls of this place, and keep your eyes as a momento  
of your death!"  
  
Miriam watched with a mixture of horror and fascination as   
Minako's eyes began to change. Slowly, at first.... They went from  
being human to a frighteningly bestial shade of green, respledant   
with cats-eye pupil. Miriam sighed as Minako clawed at the   
partition.  
  
"I'm calling off this session. You are clearly not ready to   
be debriefed." Miriam stood from the seat and pressed a small   
button on the side of the cubicle.  
  
  
In front of Minako, the partition disappeared and became part  
of the wall. In a flash, her human eyes returned and she stared at   
the wall in surprise.  
  
"Hey.... HEY! Don't leave me in here, alone. I don't like  
being alone! HEY! HEEEEEEYYYY!" She scrabbled at the segment of  
wall that had once been the partition, breaking her nails. She let  
out a short squeal of pain and grabbed her left hand as blood ran   
from the tips of her fingers.  
  
"Well, that went real well..." She whispered to herself.  
  
----o  
  
"Minako isn't.... She isn't human?" Usagi managed to pull  
the bedclothes over her as Naoko wrapped a gown around her body,   
returning from the walk-through wardrobe in the far corner of her  
residence.  
  
"No, and neither are you." Naoko smiled, tying a belt around  
the gown at her middle.  
  
"I am so a human...." Usagi paused for a few moments. "Well,  
I'm mostly human, anyway."  
  
"Indeed, that is true. You have the physical appearance of a  
human. But, like myself, it is what is inside that counts. And   
inside, you are anything but.... Both Minako and yourself. In   
fact, all of your friends are likely to be the same. I'm not sure   
why...." Naoko put a finger to her mouth, staring at the ceiling.  
  
Usagi shook her head. "It can't be true. I AM human. Both  
my parents are human.... I am fully human."  
  
"Well, I'm sorry to break this to you, but that's not   
possible. Especially as you've survived a saturation with the blood  
liqueur. You are one of US." Naoko put her hands at her sides and  
smiled at Usagi. "Unless, of course, you'd like me to do a full,   
body examination?"  
  
"No thanks...." Usagi recoiled from the thought. "I already  
have someone I like."  
  
"You do?" Naoko smiled. "Is it a guy?"  
  
"What is it to you? I hardly know you, and you're already   
asking intimate questions about my life."  
  
"Oh, I dunno...." Naoko put her hands behind her back and   
sauntered around the room. "I get the feeling I'll be knowing you  
a hell of a lot better than you know yourself."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"There is only one true way for me to tell if you're human or  
not, without all the equipment and hassle that comes with a full   
medical test...."  
  
"What? What is that?"  
  
"Your blood."  
  
"What about my blood?" Usagi swallowed, pulling the covers  
even further over her body.  
  
"Well, the one sure thing about the blood of Others.... It  
is as much a part of their physical body as an arm or a leg. It can  
be controlled and manipulated like a physical limb. However, if   
your blood is human, it is nothing more than a substance to carry  
oxygen and various necessary vitamins and minerals."  
  
"So what? Do you just cut me and see if I can move my blood  
about? I've been cut, before..."  
  
"No, that's not the way, although that could work....   
However, I am in the unique position of being sensitive to certain  
bloodtypes." Naoko stopped, her back turned to Usagi.  
  
"So how...?"  
  
Naoko half-turned her head. "Your blood.... I must drink   
it."  
  
  
END OF PART 24  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Next Chapter - "Myocardial Infraction"  
  
DDFA (The Right Dishonourable Mark A Page) ayanami@internode.on.net  
  
  
Version 1.0 - 9th Jun 1998 


	25. SIU part 25: Myocardial Infraction

S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page)  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Bandai and Kodansya. All  
other characters were thought up by me.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"What about my blood?" Usagi swallowed, pulling the covers  
even further over her body, frightened by the sudden lascivious tone  
in Naoko's voice.  
  
"Well, the one sure thing about the blood of Others.... It  
is as much a part of their physical body as an arm or a leg. It can  
be controlled and manipulated like a physical limb. However, if   
your blood is human, it is nothing more than a substance to carry  
oxygen and various necessary vitamins and minerals."  
  
"So what? Do you just cut me and see if I can move my blood  
about? I've been cut, before..."  
  
"No, that's not the way, although that could work....   
However, I am in the unique position of being sensitive to certain  
bloodtypes." Naoko stopped, her back turned to Usagi so she   
couldn't see her smile.  
  
"So..." Usagi sunk into the covers. "...How...?"  
  
Naoko half-turned her head. "Your blood.... I must drink   
it."  
  
----o  
  
Part Twentyfive  
Myocardial Infraction  
  
----o  
  
"LET ME GOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" Ami thrashed and kicked as Aoi  
pushed her into the loungeroom, her arms bent behind her back in the  
best armlock Aoi was capable of.  
  
"Try and seduce him behind our back, will you?" Aoi growled.   
"You've changed from the little wallflower who came to me, earlier   
today, trying to confess to your friend's murder."  
  
"What murder, bitch?" Ami sneered into Aoi's face. "Oh, you  
mean that dumb bitch, Makoto. She deserved to die. YEAH, THAT WAS   
IT! She deserved to snuff it. My mom killed her. Stuck the gun up  
to her head and pulled the trigger. Bang bang, bye bye Mako-chan."  
Ami thrashed about, laughing insanely.  
  
  
"Oh gawd...." Mhaere shook her head as she and Pagan stepped  
from the kitchen. "What the hell did you do to her when you fixed   
her up?" She turned to Pagan, who shrugged.  
  
"Damned if I know. All I did was fix up the damage to her   
brain." He sighed. "Maybe much of the damage wasn't caused by the  
accident."  
  
"You mean she's had brain damage since birth?"  
  
"Maybe not so much as damage.... A mere intellectual   
dysfunction will present itself to me as brain damage. Poor wiring  
up of the brain before she was born.... Can cause all sorts of   
emotional disorders."  
  
"She's supposed to be one of the smarter members of the   
Sailorsenshi. How can she have such a problem."  
  
"Autistic savant." Pagan sighed. "Or someone suffering from  
a high functioning form of Aspergers Syndrome. The social   
disability is not as severe, but the intellect, on certain subjects,  
is WAY out of this world."  
  
"Hmm...." Mhaere turned back to Aoi, who was now wrestling   
Ami into the hallway, heading towards the bedroom.  
  
"So...." Pagan cleared his throat. "If you didn't cross the  
gateway to see your sister, since she's going to have to go the way  
of you, why did you?"  
  
"Hmm?" Mhaere turned to Pagan in surprise. "Oh, for....   
particular reasons."  
  
"As in what?"  
  
Mhaere sniffed. "That friend of yours.... Lysithea Caprice?"  
  
Pagan frowned. "What about him?"  
  
"He wants to open the gateway to Nemesis. I mean fully open   
it. The Lucifer Folk are beckoning to him." She shrugged. "Not  
that you would disagree with that. After all, you ARE a member of  
the Coven, and it is within the Coven's charter to bring Earth under  
their heel."  
  
"Bull.... That's not what the Coven is about."  
  
"So what is it about?" Mhaere stepped forward, sneering in   
his face, displaying a full set of rather predatory teeth. "What is  
it about, or don't you give it much thought?"  
  
"It's.... It's about... Free will for those with the   
blood...." He swallowed. "For our kind, against those who wish to  
kill or dominate us...."  
  
"And you honestly believe that?"  
  
"Many of us do."  
  
"But not everybody. Have you ever questioned the council that  
controls the Coven's activities?"  
  
Pagan brushed Mhaere aside. "Don't get so close to me."  
  
"Why? What about me frightens you? My femininity? The   
closeness to the Others which I represent? Or maybe because I look   
like Sherrie?" Mhaere shook her head.  
  
"Maybe you do look a lot like Sherrie. Maybe you do, but you   
are not her. I might have felt something for her at one stage, but  
things have changed."  
  
"Yes, she's an invisible carnivore that may, at this very   
moment, be running amok." Mhaere closed her eyes for a second. "I  
stand corrected, she WAS an invisibl carnivore that was running   
amok, she's now no longer in our world."  
  
Pagan shuddered as he stepped away, looking at the still   
unconcious form of Gwen. "Don't make fun of my feelings."  
  
"Sorry.... Habit." Mhaere opened her eyes and turned to him.  
"Did Sherrie like you, though?"  
  
"I think she did, to begin with. But she was.... Stolen away  
by Tani Rumiko...." He chuckled, bitterly. "You get so used to   
girls rejecting you, but you never think it's because they might not  
like guys.... Well, it was always hard to tell with Sherrie."  
  
  
Pagan went silent and he looked at the floor, mute thoughts   
passing through his mind. He was surprised when he felt Mhaere's   
arms wrapping around him.  
  
"What are you....?"  
  
"Don't worry, boy..." Mhaere whispered in his left ear, a   
soft expression on her face. "I don't have Sherrie's ambivalence in  
these matters...."  
  
Mhaere nibbled on his ear, gently.  
  
Pagan began to wonder why he never had more than one   
girlfriend in High School....  
  
----o  
  
"Iyaaaa! Hentai! Sukebe!" Usagi buried herself in the   
covers of the bed as Naoko burst out into laughter.  
  
"You really are the most gullible person, you know that?"   
Naoko doubled over, clutching her middle.  
  
Usagi peered out from under the covers with daggers in her   
eyes.  
  
----o  
  
"He's awfully late, you know." Setsuna sighed as she leaned   
against the viewing window in Carey's office. "How long have we   
been here?"  
  
"A couple of hours." Carey didn't turn from her monitor,   
sitting at her desk. "According to this, Sailorvenus may be   
resisting the Vasculin we gave to her."  
  
"Eh?" Setsuna looked up at her, as did Joachim, who was   
sitting in a large leather chair at the far end of the room, hands  
behind his head.  
  
"Hmm.... According to Doctor Bartholemew, she started to go  
through a mini-becoming process when placed under pressure."  
  
"What kind of pressure?" Setsuna stepped forward. Carey   
looked up at her, smiling.  
  
"Oh really, Set.... All the good doctor wanted was a little  
basic information on her, nothing to get upset about." She turned  
to Joachim. "So what do you think? May she present a danger?"  
  
"I don't think there has been an occasion, at least in the   
last half century, when someone has been able to resist the   
vasculin." He sat forward and rubbed his chin. "It might be an  
interesting study.... Her Sailorsenshi powers might be trying to  
counter the effect."  
  
"Hmm.... A defensive mechanism in the powers themselves.   
Would you know anything about this, Setsuna?" Carey turned her head  
very suddenly to Setsuna, making the elder senshi jump with   
surprise.  
  
"Uh... I couldn't really tell you about such things."  
  
"No, of course not. Not that you'd tell me even if you did   
know. You're in the habit of keeping trade secrets."  
  
"Of course." Setsuna turned aside.  
  
Joachim looked from one to the next. "What ARE the two of you  
talking about?"  
  
"Speaking of which, have your people found.... 'her', yet?"   
Setsuna didn't turn as she asked the question.  
  
"I do believe the holding cells were found to be open.   
According to the information I have here. She must have passed   
through there at some stage. Most of those who escaped have been  
rounded up, although they are having trouble getting Cthulu Kanzaki  
back to his cell. He seems rather pleased with himself, for some   
reason."  
  
Setsuna shivered. "Oh Kami, I hope very much she didn't get   
the smooch treatment from him...."  
  
Carey smiled, turning back to her monitor. Joachim sighed and  
stood. "Will the pair of you just tell me what the hell is going   
on, here?"  
  
"Oh, it's nothing, Joachim. Setsuna, here, is Sailorpluto,   
and she is looking for Princess Serenity."  
  
"WHAT?" Joachim's jaw dropped as Setsuna spun.  
  
"Oh, that's just great. Tell everyone, why don't you,   
especially the Chief of Staff."  
  
"Well, I am Chief of Operations. It is my duty." Carey   
giggled as Setsuna crossed her arms with annoyance.  
  
"How... Did you let her into the compound?" Joachim ranged  
up on Carey. She turned and looked up at him, grinning.  
  
"Come off it. Do you think I'd let HER in willingly? Give   
her some credit, not that I ever would. She managed to sneak in   
here all by herself."  
  
"So..." Joachim turned to Setsuna. "This is what she looks  
like.... I've always wondered if the stories were true."  
  
"What stories?" Setsuna squinted at Joachim untrustingly.  
  
"About the hair." He pointed to his head. "I must say, it is  
a rather unusual shade of green."  
  
"British racing green, I think would be the correct term.   
Looks good on cars, but people...." Carey snickered, making Setsuna  
point at her, threateningly.  
  
"So. Now you know. What are you going to do?" Setsuna   
sniffed raising her nose at Joachim haughtily.  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"Nothing?"  
  
"Nothing. There is really no point. The Security System   
shall prevent you getting out." Joachim smiled and walked back to   
the leather chair, dropping himself into it heavily. Setsuna   
watched him, carefully.  
  
"Oh..." Carey said, suddenly, her smile disappearing from her  
face. "There is a message here from Doctor Popplewood....   
Apparently someone has taken some of the Blood Liqueur Base from the  
control laboratory."  
  
"Hmm...." Joachim nodded. "Does he have any idea who?"  
  
"Well, according to this, the last few people to have been   
through the labs are being checked now...."  
  
  
There was a blast of white smoke from behind Carey, and the   
entire office was filled with the choking vapour. Setsuna covered   
her mouth with a hand, her eyes stinging, and took a few steps back   
in surprise, hitting the window. She could hear Joachim coughing as  
well, his footsteps coming across the floor towards the desk.  
  
There was a short cry, and Setsuna was blown through the   
window by a force wave. She fell back into the operations centre,   
much to the surprise of the operators within.  
  
  
Alarms started to sound immediately as a couple of the   
operators helped Setsuna to her feet. She looked at them, dazedly,  
as they started asking her questions that she couldn't quite   
understand in her state of mind.  
  
----o  
  
Usagi stepped out from the bed as Naoko sat on the carpeted  
floor of the bedroom, giggling, confirming Usagi's suspicions that   
she was in the presence of a lunatic.  
  
Slowly, she crept past the girl and towards the walk-through  
wardrobe. "You'll find a large assortment of clothes in there,   
Sailormoon.... By the way, what's your real name?" Naoko looked  
up at her as she came to a dead stop in mid-step, turning around   
slowly, sweatdrop on her forehead.  
  
"Uhh... yeah, right, whatever you say."  
  
"Take your time. I can wait." Naoko waved at her, happily,  
and pulled a small remote control from the sleeve of her gown. With  
the press of a button, part of the wall slid away, and a large   
television screen appeared, showing scenes of the damaged autopsy  
room within the Tokyo Metropolitan Police building. "Tsk.... The  
things that happen in the world, today...." Naoko shook her head.  
  
Usagi swallowed and stepped into the wardrobe.  
  
----o  
  
Setsuna gazed up at the window, high above, and saw the smoke   
pouring out of the office. Suddenly, her mind snapped into gear.  
  
"...Happened?"  
  
"Are you alright?"  
  
"Ano...." Setsuna looked at the operators, two young women  
and a man, all dressed in black and gray uniforms. For a moment,   
they went silent. She took the advantage. "The Chiefs of Staff and  
Operations are in there! Quickly, sound the general alarm! The   
compound is under attack!"  
  
"Yes ma'am!" They chorused, and took off in different   
directions. Almost within seconds, she could hear klaxons blaring   
from all around. She turned back to the observation window.  
  
"Lysithea Caprice.... You are a sly one." She said between   
clenched teeth. Then she vanished into thin air.  
  
----o  
  
Minako lifted her head from the pillow and stared around the  
room, able to hear the blaring sirens, but only through the muffling  
effect of the walls of her holding cell.  
  
"That don't sound good." She sniffed and wiped her nose.  
  
"Yeah, it sounds like a bitch." Said the voice of the woman  
who was standing on the right side of her bed. Minako nearly fell  
from it as she scampered for the shelter of the other side.  
  
Lifting her head over the edge, she saw a red-headed woman   
looking down at her. The woman was dressed in a black jacket and  
miniskirt, which she was dusting down as if she was dirty.  
  
"Who the hell are you?" Minako managed to get out at last.  
The woman looked down at her, half-smiling.  
  
"Who indeed."  
  
----o  
  
Kaji's car came to a screeching halt near a bus stop, outside   
the front of the Hikawa Shrine. He undid his seatbelt and opened   
the door, staring over the wall at the shrine grounds beyond.  
  
He stepped from the car and closed the door, softly. The   
street seemed to be fairly quiet at this time of the night. Well,  
she WOULD choose the quietest time to do her dirty work.  
  
Nakano Miyuki.  
  
Just thinking of the name made him shiver.  
  
Slowly, he locked the car and replaced his keys in his pocket.  
Then, with the same slow deliberation, her pulled his service   
revolver from underneath his overcoat, pulling the collar tightly   
around his neck as he felt the rain through his thinning hair.  
  
Then there was a cry of shock and a couple of gunshots. He  
could hear footsteps and voices coming from within the shrine   
grounds.... The sound of running feet, of rustling bushes. And  
then a vast ball of flame that set an entire thicket of trees   
alight.  
  
And he gave a lot of second thoughts about going through with  
this....  
  
Steeling himself, he ran through the front gate of the shrine  
and began to make his way up the stairs....  
  
----o  
  
Fitchner sat within the coffee shop, staring into his coffee   
with the kind of distant glance that virtually invited people to ask  
his life story. At least, that was what Manakuto felt as he stepped  
through the front door.  
  
"Irasshai mase...." The waitress at the counter bowed to him.  
"Ah, Dietman Manakuto, how pleasing to see you again." He smiled at  
her and nodded his head in return, then made his way over to   
Fitchner, who hadn't showed any sign of acknowledging his presence.  
  
"May I sit with you, Martin?" He said, standing a respectful  
distance away. Fitchner almost leapt from his seat in surprise,   
then gestured to the seat on the other side of the table with a   
forced smile.  
  
"Please do, please do...." Manakuto bowed, and removed his   
overcoat, wrapping it in a small bundle and placing it in his lap  
after sitting.  
  
"I heard you were moping here all day." Manakuto began.   
Fitchner looked at him, strangely.  
  
"From whom?"  
  
"Nearly everyone who knows you in my office. When I got back  
from the session, I was given a full briefing on your presence   
here." Manakuto gestured to the coffee shop.  
  
"Well, it was near the Diet building, and I really didn't feel  
like doing anything else, today...."  
  
"Michelle, hmm?" Manakuto raised his eyebrows, inviting a   
reply. All Fitchner did was nod. "I know how you feel, Martin, but  
you can't let it affect you like this..."  
  
"I couldn't think of anything else to do. It was so long....  
So long since I heard her voice. After I left your office today, my  
legs just went to jelly. I couldn't go any further. I still   
can't." He looked down at the coffee again. "I keep wondering   
where she is. What she is doing now...."  
  
----o  
  
Michelle paced the holding cell, taking a few deep breaths,   
then sat down. She'd repeated these steps ever since she had   
recovered and found herself in this place.  
  
She'd seen neither hide not hair of anyone since. It was like  
a form of torture, being left alone in a small, dark room. It   
wasn't uncomfortable, or anything, but it was sparse.... Black   
walls and a gray, carpeted floor, with the only light coming from   
what appeared to be a skylight. Only it couldn't be a skylight,  
because it had been near the end of the day when she was last   
concious and a couple of hours had to have passed since. At least  
she could hear something.... Like the muffled sound of klaxons. It  
worried her even more.  
  
She wondered where Nobuhiro and Pagan were. She wondered if  
they were even alive. She couldn't imagine Nobuhiro going down   
without a fight, although she got the feeling that he was in the  
same building as she, somewhere. Not a good sign, really.  
  
  
She drummed her fingers on the carpet. Surely someone had to  
appear, sooner or later, and gloat over her capture. Sooner or   
later. Being a member of the Coven, and one with a viable   
bloodline, they were likely to try and work their re-education upon  
her. She didn't like the thought of that. Still, she had been   
stupid enough to get herself caught, so what could she do?  
  
Where were they? She bit her lower lip. They were certainly  
taking their time. They would have detected movement within the   
holding cell, by now. They would have detected that she was in a  
concious frame of mind. Why didn't they show themselves?  
  
She stood again and started pacing. There wasn't really   
enough room to pace. It was just small enough to be annoying. She  
hit one wall with a fist when she reached it, then repeated the   
action against the opposite wall. She repeated this every time she  
came face to face with one of those walls. Those black walls.   
Those solid black walls to which there was no visible way in, or   
out.  
  
She thumped a wall with both of her fists, feeling the depth  
behind it. It felt thick and impenetrable. How did they get her in  
here? How was she going to get out?  
  
She looked up at the skylight. Oh, surely not. Maybe the   
ceiling opened up, somehow. She could have been placed through the  
top of the room. And yet, the more she thought about it, the less  
likely it seemed to be.  
  
  
She began to panic. The light was starting to get darker.   
The walls around her seemed to be closing in. She ran to one and   
started pounding her fists against it.  
  
"Let me out! I demand to be let out of here!" Despite the  
words, her voice was anything but commanding. An edge of fear made  
them croak from her throat in a manner that only confirmed her worst  
fears about herself.  
  
She was clausterphobic.  
  
She hated these confined areas. The light was dimming even  
further, now, and the walls were looming closer. To her, it seemed  
like the final moments of life. Darkness and death closing in, no  
escape. She screamed and beat herself against the walls, scratching  
wildly.  
  
  
Light. All through the room. She was lying on the floor on  
her side, her hands and face were bloodied. She was shivering   
uncontrollably as she lifted her face to greet the figure that was  
sitting on the other side of an observation window.  
  
"Well, we have made a right mess of ourselves, haven't we?"  
Doctor Bartholemew shook her head. "We've already had to patch up   
two or three people tonight. Looks like you're going to have to be  
added to the list, does it not?"  
  
Michelle made some rasping noises from her throat. To her, it  
seemed like a logical question. Bartholemew merely shook her head,  
sadly.  
  
"Doesn't look like we're going to get a lot out of you,   
tonight. I think you're in line for a transfer to the control   
labs." Bartholemew looked like she was going to stand, when she   
paused and turned back to Michelle. "Umm, I thought I should tell  
you, your father is in the presence of a member of the Coven. It is  
likely that that person shall lead him to his death."  
  
Michelle's eyes opened, and she crawled towards to partition,  
staring up at Bartholemew, untrustingly. Bartholemew shrugged.  
  
"Well, we could save him. The ultimate decision will be up to  
you, of course. Now, I don't want to see anything happen to him.   
But all the same, if you wish for him to die, then you can just   
remain where you are and continue to suffer the...." Bartholemew  
smiled. "....The darkness within this holding cell. I'm quite sure  
you'll be able to suffer it for a little while longer, no?"  
  
Michelle lifted herself up and started to scrabble on the   
partition, a beckoning expression on her face. Bartholemew sat   
back, satisfied.  
  
"There's a good girl."  
  
----o  
  
Usagi peered out of the wardrobe, scratching her head. She   
was now dressed in a red and black kimono that was a size too small  
for her. It was the best she could find.  
  
The other thing she found was her senshi fuku.... Or, at   
least, its tattered remains. She held it rather sadly as she   
listened, over the sound of the television.  
  
Naoko turned to her, yawning. "What is it?"  
  
"Do you hear something?"  
  
"Hmm?" Naoko blinked, and listened herself. She then stood  
and cocked her head to one side, trying to pinpoint the sound.   
"Sounds like a general alarm. Something big must have happened."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Oh, incipient nuclear strike, that kind of thing." Naoko  
giggled and hopped over to Usagi, dragging her from the wardrobe.  
"Now, don't you look just a picture in that." She smiled, throwing  
a couple of arms around the reluctant blond. She then noticed what  
Usagi was holding. "Hmm.... Pity about that."  
  
"How did you get it off me?" Usagi blinked. Naoko smiled and  
leaned forward, pressing her face into Usagi's.  
  
"Now wouldn't YOU like to know?" She giggled again, then   
caught sight of Usagi's neck....  
  
  
Usagi sighed and tried to take a step back. "You can let go   
of me now. I'm not going to run away." When she couldn't pull   
herself from Naoko's grasp, she dropped the ruined fuku and tried  
to push her away. "Let me GO! I said I'm not into that...."  
  
Usagi's heart skipped a beat as she felt Naoko's lips pressing  
against the base of her throat. "Hey!" Usagi swallowed. "Hey,   
stop that. It's not funny. Stop it, I said!" Usagi pushed harder  
against Naoko, but the girl's grasp was like steel, holding her   
tightly.  
  
Then she heard Naoko take a deep breath, and felt a sudden,   
sharp stabbing sensation, pushing its way into her throat.  
  
Then all her resistance left her as she was filled with a   
strange kind of pleasure....  
  
  
END OF PART 25  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Now, you all knew Naoko wasn't going to resist forever, didn't you?  
  
^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^  
  
Next Chapter - "A Pox on Both Your Houses"  
  
DDFA (The Right Dishonourable Mark A Page) ayanami@internode.on.net  
  
  
Version 1.0 - 11th Jun 1998 


	26. SIU part 26: A Deadly Choice in Life and...

Version 1.0 - 8th Jul 1998  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page)  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon and Silent Mobius are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Kia  
Asamiya, Michitaka Kikuchi, Bandai, Studio Tron, Kadokawa and   
Kodansya. All other characters were thought up by me.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Usagi sighed and tried to take a step back. "You can let go   
of me now. I'm not going to run away." When she couldn't pull   
herself from Naoko's grasp, she dropped the ruined senshi fuku and   
tried to push her away. "Let me GO! I said I'm not into that...."  
  
Usagi's heart skipped a beat as she felt Naoko's lips pressing  
against the base of her throat. "Hey!" Usagi swallowed. "Hey,   
stop that. It's not funny. Stop it, I said!" Usagi pushed harder  
against Naoko, but the girl's grasp was like steel, holding her   
tightly.  
  
Then she heard Naoko take a deep breath, and felt a sudden,   
sharp stabbing sensation, pushing its way into the base of her   
neck.  
  
Then all her resistance left her as she was filled with a   
strange kind of pleasure....  
  
----o  
  
Miki stood, held in place by the crowd on the train, staring  
mindlessly at the passing view. To her, it was like watching   
prerecorded events.... As if this was what she was destined to see,  
enforced by some unseen hand.  
  
She had started to hear a voice since her encounter with the  
two young women. Not their voices, of course, for she had heard   
them talk in conspiratorial tones inside her own mind as she had   
hurried away, trying to removed herself from their presence by some  
instilled fear she couldn't quite understand.  
  
No, this voice had the ring of death about it. Almost like   
the hollow cry of the wind.... A kind of ghostly echo of what had  
been, and what still wanted to be. She knew this didn't make any   
sense, even to herself, but for some reason, the voice was getting  
louder, and more insistent. Like a warning.  
  
  
She did her best to ignore the voice, feeling the strain in   
her arm as she clutched the strap that hung from the ceiling of the  
train carriage. Even with all the people around her, keeping her  
upright, she didn't feel quite stable enough to rely on the force of  
sheer numbers to keep her from falling.... And she was feeling   
quite faint at this point in time.  
  
She kept having fits. Seizures, where she would suddenly be  
somewhere else, in a body that felt quite a bit shorter than the one  
she currently inhabited. She wasn't sure whose body it was, but she  
was sure it wasn't hers. She could SEE it wasn't hers, every time   
she saw her reflection.... Right from the moment she'd woken up, to  
every single time she'd pass by a window. She'd stare in abject  
curiousity at the tall figure of the girl she knew, but couldn't   
quite work out how.  
  
  
After elbowing another train pervert in the solar plexus, for  
attempting to rub himself against her thigh, she opted to move   
through the crowd, pushing herself further from the door. She was  
scared of the door. Something bad would happen if she stepped from  
this train. She tried to put it out of her mind, knowing this to be  
sheer paranoia on her part. Why would anything bad happen to her if  
she stepped out through the door, onto the platform beyond. And   
yet, the fear would not leave her.  
  
All of this was fed by the voice. Now louder than ever.   
Louder, even, than the sound of the train, or the voices of the   
other passengers. not that many people were talking. Rail travel   
in Tokyo tended to be an amazingly dehumanising experience, even at  
the best of times, and the vast majority of the patrons were staring  
into space with that classic "I'm on a train again" vacancy that she  
remembered so well from her childhood, when she used to catch the  
train to and from school.  
  
How long ago was that now? She couldn't quite tell. She was   
sure that she'd already been through the rigours of university, and  
passed. Bachelor of Arts, with a degree in Statistical Analysis.   
She also had a job. A dispatch officer, in the central office of   
the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. So what was she doing on  
a train, making her way to a college where she had classes in   
cooking and nursery, backpack full of books held tightly in one   
hand?  
  
She couldn't cook. She HATED cooking, in fact. The best   
she'd ever achieved in the gastronomic arts was filling up a cup  
noodle with hot water and waiting the compulsory three minutes for  
heaven. And as for nursery.... She couldn't tell the difference  
between a chrysanthemum and a sauersob.... Who would choose two  
such disparate subjects to study, anyway?  
  
"I would." Said the voice, louder than ever, now.  
  
"Be quiet." Miki muttered to herself, getting some strange  
looks from a woman who was standing in front of her. There was a  
sigh from the owner of the voice.  
  
"And who are you to tell me what to do?"  
  
"Please.... You're embarassing me..." Miki was redfaced as  
the woman turned away from her. "See, she thinks I'm nuts. Talking  
to myself like this...."  
  
"It doesn't matter what that projection thinks. It has no   
thoughts of its own. It merely emulates what you think it should do  
in this situation."  
  
Miki swallowed and closed her eyes. "Go away."  
  
"I can't. Not anymore."  
  
  
Miki was about to punch herself in the head to stop the voice  
when she heard, and felt, the train pulling into a station. She   
began to panic. All those earlier feelings, about something bad  
happening to her if she got off the train, returned.  
  
"Why are you panicking so?" Asked the voice.  
  
"The door...."  
  
"What about the door?"  
  
"Get me away from it. I don't want to get off the train."  
  
"Well, you don't have to."  
  
Miki opened her eyes again and blinked. There were several  
people staring at her, now. Strange, fearful expressions. People  
terrified of whom they had come into contact with. yet another poor  
soul who had finally lost it in the morning rush. Miki felt a cold  
sweat running down her forehead.  
  
She turned away from the stares, trying to ignore them. For   
some reason, the voice remained silent a the train pulled into the  
station. As it stopped, the automatic doors flew open, and a vast  
wave of people flooded out onto the platform. Miki momentarily felt  
herself being dragged towards the open exit. She panicked, and   
grabbed hard onto a pole along the far row of seats.  
  
People wanting past her growled with annoyance and almost   
bowled her over in their attempts to reach the doorway. In time,  
however, the wave subsided to a trickle, with the majority of the  
train's patrons disembarking. Miki relaxed, seeing that the   
carriage was now almost entirely empty. She continued to stare at  
the open doorway, however, fearful of the open air....  
  
  
The doors glided shut, and she felt the train begin to move   
on. She relaxed, letting out a long breath, as she sat herself down  
on the nearest seat, now totally devoid of passengers.  
  
"There, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Said the voice from a   
short distance away. Miki, whose head was hanging in exhaustion,   
looked up, slightly, and saw a figure. The figure of a tall young  
woman. She continued to look up the figure until she reached the  
face, and realised she was looking into the reflection of herself,  
ever since she had woken up in that strange bed, in that strange  
house.  
  
"Who.... Who are you?"  
  
"My name is Kino Makoto. How very nice to meet you, Watanabe  
Miki."  
  
----o  
  
Part Twentysix  
A Deadly Choice in Life and Death  
  
----o  
  
"Oooohhhhh...." Usagi could see waves of red and black,   
washing across her eyes. Warm waves, feeding upon dark desires   
within Usagi's own mind as she felt her blood run from her body.  
  
The sound of Naoko, swallowing her blood, made her shiver. An  
uncontrolled impulse of masochistic desire.  
  
And then it stopped. Rapidly and disconcertingly. Usagi felt  
a slow trickle of blood, running from the rapidly healing would in   
her neck. Those waves of red and black started to recede, and the   
room came into focus once more.  
  
It was then that she realised that Naoko was no longer holding  
onto her. She looked around, dazedly, trying to find where the girl  
had got to.  
  
  
There was a gagging and coughing sound from the floor in front  
of her. Looking down, she saw Naoko, on her hands and knees, trying  
her best not to empty the contents of her stomach on the carpet.  
  
The girl turned and looked up at Usagi, her face now extremely  
pale, which made the blood that ran freely from her mouth all the   
more horrifying. Naoko's eyes studied Usagi with a mixture of shock  
and disappointment. From somewhere deep inside, Usagi's emotions  
emulated that disappointment.  
  
"You...." Naoko swallowed.  
  
"Why did you stop?" Usagi croaked.  
  
"Your blood...."  
  
Usagi put a hand to the now almost invisible wound. "What   
about my blood?"  
  
"It's pure." Naoko put a hand to her chin and did her best to  
wipe the blood away. Usagi knelt down to her, feeling concerned.  
  
"Thanks...." She looked around for something to clean Naoko  
with. Naoko shook her head.  
  
"I don't mean pure in that sense. Your blood isn't...."   
Naoko paused, not knowing how to say this.  
  
"Isn't what?" Usagi frowned.  
  
"You're one of us.... No, more than that...."  
  
"Eh?" Usagi frowned, then remembered where she was. "You...  
You're a VAMPIRE! A KYUUKETSUKI! AN AKUMA!" Usagi was about to   
back away, finally coming to her senses, realising what was going   
on, when Naoko gripped her arm, refusing to let go.  
  
"I'm an akuma, am I?" She leaned forward, towards Usagi, a   
sick smile on her face. "What does that make someone whose blood is  
pure?" Naoko breathed heavily, then lowered her head to the floor,  
bowing. "Forgive me, great one. I didn't know."  
  
"Eh?" Usagi put up her hands, not understanding Naoko's   
sudden change in attitude.  
  
"I have wounded you.... Attempted to feast upon your bodily  
tissue. Forgive me, great one."  
  
"N... no.... That's alright. I wasn't hurt or anything, as  
long as I won't turn into a vampire or anything...."  
  
"You shall not, great one."  
  
"Why do you keep calling me 'great one'?"  
  
Naoko lifted up her face, confusion and.... Usagi could see   
it, now. A sense of fear. "Because your blood is pure. It is   
inedible to half breeds like myself. You are safe from the horrors  
that live in this place."  
  
----o  
  
"Wha... Wha wha wha...." Miki's jaw hung at an almost   
comical depth from the rest of her face as Makoto smiled at her. It  
was not an entirely pleasant smile, however, since the girl's face   
was a great deal more drawn and haggard than Miki's version had   
been.  
  
"I see you are having a little difficulty in understanding   
what is going on here."  
  
"That.... might be understating the situation, slightly."   
Miki swallowed, thinking that it might not be such a bad idea if she  
did get off the train. The next stop couldn't have been that far  
away, surely.  
  
"Yes. I expected as much. I just wanted to see you, face to  
face. I'm sorry about the way I introduced myself to you.... I   
hadn't quite got the hang of this death thing, yet."  
  
"This death thing?" Miki shivered. "Excuse me, but I think  
I'm going to be sick. Would you mind stepping out of the way in   
case I decide to make a mess of your clothing?" Miki put a hand   
over her mouth and turned away, closing her eyes.  
  
"You can't get away from me so easily, Watanabe-san. We're  
fused together, you and I, forever and ever. It was an accident,  
you see.... The Heart Crystal made the decision for us...." Makoto  
realised that Miki wasn't listening. "Even if you close your eyes  
on me, you can't escape the fact that I am inside your own head."  
  
"Alright, already. Enough. Just who the hell are you?" Miki  
turned on Makoto, baring her teeth in quite a ferocious little   
snarl. At least, that is how it seemed to Makoto.  
  
"No need to be so nasty about it. As I said, I had no control  
over the choice of host for the Jupiter Heart Crystal."  
  
"The Jupiter Heart Crystal?" Miki's expression turned a shade  
paler. "I seem to remember something about a Heart Crystal...."  
  
"You're a young policewoman.... A member of dispatch....   
They don't allow Japanese Policewomen to do any REAL police work.  
Doesn't that make you angry, thinking that you weren't likely to get  
any further than dispatch?"  
  
Miki shook her head. "I was... contented... to stay where I   
was, thankyou very much."  
  
"And why was that, hmm? Because there happened to be a subtle  
form of pressure placed upon you by other members of the force.   
This is what you are and this is what you remain...." Makoto   
laughed. "I would never have accepted that. I would have busted   
heads until they promoted me." And to prove a point, she punched a  
fist into her other hand. Miki sighed and shook her head.  
  
"You'd never understand. It's not as if I was given much of a  
choice. Any woman who has gone on to specialised departments has   
been able to only under a form of special dispensation. The rules   
have always placed women out of the line of fire.... And I wasn't  
about to bend those rules. It's not worth it...."  
  
"What do you mean, it's not worth it? Why are you so content  
to sit back and allow others to make your decisions for you?"   
Makoto crossed her arms and shook her head. "Do you know who I am,  
girl? I'm Sailorjupiter, that's who. I never allowed myself the  
luxury of playing the weak, anaemic little Japanese doll that some  
individuals seemed keen to shape me as...."  
  
"Looking at you, I'm not surprised."  
  
"That's beside the point. I stood for something. And now,  
you are also going to have to stand for something, because you   
aren't going to get the opportunity to choose. The Heart Crystal  
chose for you." Makoto turned aside, looking at something. Miki  
followed her gaze.  
  
  
Sitting a short distance away, at the other end of the   
carriage, was Sailorjupiter. Not the distinctive form of Makoto  
as Sailorjupiter, but rather a shade in the green, white and pink  
senshi fuku.... An indeterminate form that stared ahead with eyes  
of glowing white.  
  
Miki swallowed as Sailorjupiter turned to her, staring at her  
with those glowing eyes. Eyes filled with power and energy, waiting  
to explode onto the world once more. And she felt frightened by the  
figure, trying to will it away. So it vanished.  
  
Makoto shook her head, turning back to Miki. "You're   
hopeless, you really are. How could you reject her? How could you?  
She chose YOU, of all people. You CAN'T reject her now. Not when  
there is so much to do.... So much to achieve..... What can it be  
that is holding you back? What kind of life have you lead that   
stops you from becoming her?"  
  
Miki turned to where Makoto had stood, but the girl had   
vanished into nothingness. She felt no sense of disorientation by   
this.... It was almost as if she was expecting it. One big fait   
accompli, driven by the one who now shared her mind. The train   
started to dissolve....  
  
  
And then she was no longer in the train. Instead, a monument  
stood before her, its cold white stone glaring in the sunlight. And   
on the monument was the name Watanabe Shinnosuke. It was her  
father's grave.  
  
A sense of emotional deadness ran through her, distracting her  
from the fact that she was still sitting on the train seat. She  
stared at the monument for several moments, trying to reconcile   
these feelings with what she thought she should be emoting. But   
then, this WAS her father's grave. Her papa's grave....  
  
  
"Papa..." Miki stood from the seat, leaving her backpack  
behind. She turned around, and found the seat and bag to be gone,  
replaced by the tranquility of the graveyard.  
  
The warm sun cast a comforting glow throughout her surrounds  
as she surveyed the silent scene. Not even the birds dared to speak  
in this sacred place. She hated it here, even though she had   
visited it many times.  
  
"Your father's grave." Makoto placed a hand on Miki's   
shoulder, appearing from nowhere. Miki turned to her, not   
necessarily surprised by Makoto's sudden presence.  
  
"Indeed." Miki said flatly.  
  
"So we share something in common. I lost both of my parents  
when I was young." Makoto smiled softly.  
  
"I'm sorry...." Miki murmured. "It must have been hard for  
you."  
  
"It must have been hard for you, too, losing your father."  
Makoto looked at Miki, quizzically, trying to work out why the girl  
was being so matter of fact about this.  
  
"He died when I was young. Perhaps five or six years of age,  
I can't be sure. Mama never told me much about him."  
  
"You seemed rather calm about it all...."  
  
"Don't misunderstand my reactions." Miki stepped up to the  
monument, touching it. "Ours had been quite a well off family.   
That is one of the reasons I had such a comprehensive education. My  
Grandparents, you see.... They wanted to have a Grandson, but were  
denied this when their only child died not long after my birth. So,   
instead, they gave everything they would have given to that Grandson   
to me." Miki smiled, strangely. "In a strange kind of way, I   
benefited from Papa's death...." Miki looked aside at Makoto.   
"That might seem a rather heartless thing to say."  
  
"No.... For someone who never really developed a close   
emotional attachment to a parent, I'd say it would be expected."  
  
Miki was silent for several moments, mulling over her   
thoughts. "What is the purpose of bringing me here? How did I come  
to be here, anyway?"  
  
"You're not actually here. I merely looked through your   
memories, and found this featuring rather largely amongst them."  
  
Miki turned to Makoto. "Where am I, then?"  
  
"In a hospital. The doctors are trying to revive you after  
my old Heart Crystal inserted itself into you."  
  
----o  
  
Miriam Bartholemew stepped away from the entrance to the   
observation booth, satisfied with the way the re-education program   
on Michelle had started.  
  
She studied her clipboard for a few moments. It was time to  
see how the Aino girl was going, again. The momentary lapse she had  
undergone should have passed by now....  
  
"Doctor Bartholemew..." She turned to the voice of her   
understudy, Sono Kei, as the young woman paced briskly up to her.  
  
"What is it?" Miriam asked, her no-nonsense tone trying to  
counter the worried expression on Kei's face.  
  
"The Aino girl...."  
  
"What about her?" Now Miriam was worried.  
  
"She's climbing the walls of her holding cell. Apparently, so  
she says, she saw a ghost and wants out in a big way."  
  
"A ghost?" Miriam frowned. "A psychologically-created   
manisfestation of the security system?"  
  
"I don't think so. This was a definite apparition, according   
to her description. And the way she's acting, she'll set off the   
security system badly enough to kill herself."  
  
"Oh for the love of...." Miriam rubbed her face. "Very well,  
I was intending to speak with her, anyway. Leave this to me."  
  
----o  
  
"That's.... nice to know." Usagi swallowed. "I've been   
nothing BUT attacked by strange things ever since I entered this  
place...."  
  
"I would be willing to be your servant, if you give me your  
total forgiveness." Naoko looked hopeful. "I shall follow you   
wherever you go."  
  
"Whoa, hold it...." Usagi's brain started racing. "Half an  
hour ago you were toying with my mind...."  
  
"I didn't realise... the depth. I should have seen it when   
you emulated the control wave I used on the halfbreeds in the   
holding cells...."  
  
Usagi swallowed. "Yes, well.... That's.... I mean, some   
like to think of me as the messiah, and all that, but I'd really   
rather not be...."  
  
"Yes. Messiah. That's it. You're a messiah. A messiah for  
our kind."  
  
"Umm.... That's kind of taking it a little too far, you   
know.... I don't like it when people refer to me in those kinds of  
words...." It was too late. Naoko was on her feet, bringing Usagi  
with her.  
  
"A messiah to free our kind from the oppression we've faced  
since the coming of the Others...."  
  
"Hoi hoi hoi...." Usagi was surprised by the girl's strength.  
"Take it easy."  
  
"I must tell Papa.... I must tell him what Sailormoon truly  
is.... I must tell him." Naoko let her go and spun, dancing around  
the large, empty space of the main room, then turning back to Usagi  
as she reached the door. "You just wait here, now. I shan't be   
long." And before Usagi could say anything, Naoko was out the door,  
it slamming behind her.  
  
Usagi stood in the middle of the room, stunned with disbelief.  
"What... What is going on here?"  
  
"I'm not sure, Princess."  
  
Usagi came close to leaping halfway across the room when she  
heard the sudden, soft tones of Setsuna, standing behind her.   
"P.... Pluto..."  
  
"Hello, Princess."  
  
"When did you...? How long have you...?"  
  
"About five minutes ago, around about the time she took the   
bite." To underline her point, Setsuna clamped her teeth together.  
"I wondered about whether I should stop her. I had a feeling it   
would end the way it did."  
  
"Why did she stop? I mean, she's a vampire and all, isn't   
she? I mean, they really exist...."  
  
"Yes, they really exist."  
  
"Why haven't we ever encountered them before?"  
  
"Because they're kept in check, of course."  
  
"Kept in check by what? By The Sacred House?"  
  
"In a nutshell, yes." Setsuna shrugged. Just then, the   
alarms that had been ringing monotonously within the Sacred House  
compound chose to cease and desist. Both Usagi and Setsuna turned  
to the doorway, nervously.  
  
"What was all that about?"  
  
"The alarms? Well, it's a long story. Perhaps I can tell it  
to you as we make good our way out of this place..."  
  
"What do you mean, out of this place? Minako is in here,   
somewhere." Usagi clenched her fists. "We're in here, now. We   
might as well help her get out."  
  
Setsuna closed her eyes and took a breath. "I'm sorry,   
Princess, but that won't be possible."  
  
"Why not?" Usagi pressed her face up into Setsuna's. "She is  
my friend. OUR friend. And WE don't leave OUR friends behind!"  
  
"I'm sorry, Princess, but it is best if we leave her in here   
for the time being...."  
  
Before they could argue the point anymore, the doors to the  
room were flung open. Both spun, expecting to see some kind of   
fascist security guard of some sort.  
  
Instead, they came face to face with the ball of flesh that  
had pursued Usagi throughout the holding cell compound when she had  
been disabled by the fumes of the blood liqueur.  
  
"What.... What is that?" Setsuna backed away with Usagi as  
the ball started rolling into the room, its many eyes staring   
eagerly in their direction.  
  
"It's... a bit hard to explain.... That vampire girl called  
it Cthulu Kanzaki...."  
  
"So that's Cthulu...." Setsuna swallowed. "I thought that it  
had been put back in its cell...."  
  
"So did I...." Usagi croaked as the pair were backed into a  
corner by the ball of flesh's advance....  
  
  
END OF PART 26  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Next Chapter is REALLY "A Pox On Both Your Houses".... I just had  
some housekeeping to get out of the way, first, before I launched  
into that part of the SIU storyline.  
  
Sorry I took so long with this chapter.... Terminal boredom in the  
writing process of some of this story's scenes held not only this  
one back, which I was determined to be the next major thing I did  
put out, but also UID II and AtB, which are next on the list of   
things that NEED TO BE DONE....  
  
Anyway, I've limited myself to a few set pieces in this chapter, and  
shall do the same for the next, which should involve Mhaere   
convincing Pagan that she can prove what she says about Lysithea and  
his desire to open the gateway between Earth and Nemesis. I will  
also include a couple of characters who have quite a bit to do with  
events 25 or so years in the future.... When Tokyo is being guarded  
by a group of women, called the Attacked Mystification Police   
Department....  
  
_________  
/ @ \ DDFA (The Right Dishonourable Mark A Page)  
/ / ^ ^ \ \ ayanami@internode.on.net  
/\  
\/ \/  
\___________/  
/_/ \_\ PU 


	27. SIU part 27: A Pox on Both Your Houses

Version 1.0 - 28th Jul 1998  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page)  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon and Silent Mobius are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Kia  
Asamiya, Michitaka Kikuchi, Bandai, Studio Tron, Kadokawa and   
Kodansya. All other characters were thought up by me.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"What do you mean, out of this place? Minako is in here,   
somewhere." Usagi clenched her fists. "We're in here, now. We   
might as well help her get out."  
  
Setsuna closed her eyes and took a breath, almost shuddering   
with the effort it took to say the next line. "I'm sorry, Princess,   
but that won't be possible."  
  
"Why not?" Usagi pressed forward, her face close to   
Setsuna's, the elder senshi staring back, feeling like a right heel.   
"She is my friend. OUR friend. And WE don't leave OUR friends   
behind!" Usagi lowered her face. "Do we?"  
  
Ouch! Setsuna had to admit, that hurt. There were very few   
people in the world with the capacity to prick Setsuna's conscience  
than her princess. But still, she was adamant.... There was simply  
NO way that she would allow Venus back onto the streets in her   
current condition. Much as she hated to admit it, the Sacred House  
was her only hope for salvation.  
  
"I'm sorry, Princess, but it is best if we leave her in here   
for the time being...."  
  
"YOU have GOT to be JOKING! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING?"  
Usagi's face went red with rage. "After EVERYTHING that Mina-chan  
has done for me in the past, you DARE suggest I leave her in the   
hands of a group like THIS?"  
  
  
Before they could argue the point any further, the doors to   
the room were flung open. Both spun, their hearts racing, expecting   
to see some kind of fascist security guard of some sort.  
  
Instead, they came face to face with the ball of flesh that  
had pursued Usagi throughout the holding cell compound when she had  
been disabled by the fumes of the blood liqueur.  
  
  
"What.... What is that?" Setsuna backed away with Usagi as  
the ball started rolling into the room, its many eyes staring   
eagerly... hungrily... in their direction.  
  
"It's... a bit hard to explain.... That vampire girl called  
it Cthulu Kanzaki...."  
  
"So that's Cthulu...." Setsuna swallowed. "I thought that it  
had been put back into its cell...."  
  
"So did I...." Usagi croaked as the pair were backed into a  
corner by the ball of flesh's advance....  
  
----o  
  
Part Twentyseven  
A Pox on Both Your Houses  
  
----o  
  
"Well, that's settled that problem for the time being." Aoi  
slapped her hands together as she walked into her lounge room,   
immediately surveying the scene of intimacy that was passing between  
Mhaere and Pagan. "Just WHAT the BLOODY HELL do you two think   
you're doing?"  
  
Pagan turned to Aoi, gesturing helplessly. "It's not me. She  
just started smooching away, honest...." He heard a giggle from the  
redheaded young woman whose arms were still wrapped around his neck.  
"Hey.... Wait a minute. Why am I defending myself to you?" He   
managed to remove himself from Mhaere's fawning attention, crossing  
his arms.  
  
Aoi clenched both her teeth and fists. "For KAMI's sake, I've  
just spent the last five minutes bounding and gagging that   
nymphomaniacal Sailorsenshi to my bed...."  
  
"Sukebe." Mhaere chuckled. Aoi shot her an evil look.  
  
"Look who's talking."  
  
"Alright, ALRIGHT! That's enough out of the both of you."   
Pagan sighed. "The last thing I need is a couple of ladies fighting  
over me...."  
  
"It's not YOU we're fighting over." Aoi grumbled.  
  
"No, it's Clydesdale, actually." Mhaere burst out laughing.   
Pagan did his best to stop Aoi slam dunking her into the fishtank.  
  
"That's ENOUGH, I said. For God's sake...." Aoi settled, and  
he let her go. "Right now, I'm more concerned about the situation   
we're currently in."  
  
"And that would be?" Mhaere raised an eyebrow after wiping   
tears from her eyes. Pagan looked at her, painfully.  
  
"According to what you've told me... And I see no reason to  
believe you, Lysithea is in the process of kidnapping a member of   
the Sacred House in an effort to open the dimensional gate that   
borders our world and Nemesis."  
  
"Indeed, he is. I know this for a fact."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Aoi blinked, her face a mask of  
confusion. Pagan turned to her.  
  
"What I mean is, a member of the Coven of Atrocity is   
intending to perform a ceremony, using two halfbloods as sacrifices,  
to open the door to the world of the Others." He glanced at Mhaere.  
"Only I am LESS than inclined to believe the person who has given me  
this information."  
  
"Why?" Mhaere jammed her fists on her hips, miffed by Pagan's  
attitude.  
  
"For a start, you USED to be a member of the Sacred House.   
How can I trust ANYONE who had come under their influence?" Mhaere  
huffed and turned away, crossing her arms. Pagan ignored this and  
continued. "Secondly, I have known Lysithea since we were children.  
If he were to be doing anything like this, he would have told me."  
  
"You're sure?" Aoi sniffed. "I've been betrayed, in my past,  
by people who were closer than family. Not hard to be, really, when  
you consider my family, but all the same." She coughed and ruffled  
through the coat she had put on, hoping to find a spare packet of  
cigarettes. She needed her dose of nervejuice right now.  
  
"Lysithea and I were like THIS!" Pagan leaned forward,   
pinching two fingers together as Aoi triumphantly pulled out a lone  
cigarette, slightly bent and ruffled, but still smokeable.  
  
"Hot damn, I knew I had one in there." She held her prize   
aloft, then ruffled through the other pocket in search of a match.  
"You were saying?"  
  
Pagan, slightly deflated in his argument by Aoi's diversion,  
sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Look.... This is not the only   
problem we face." He gestured to Gwen, who was still sitting,   
unconscious, in the lounge chair she had been placed when they'd  
arrived. "Her partners are likely to be looking for her."  
  
"And are likely to track her here, simply by following her  
energy signal." Mhaere nodded, still looking away.  
  
  
Aoi pulled the matchbox from her other pocket and proceeded  
to light the ruffled cigarette, taking a long, slow draw of its  
smoke, deep into her lungs. She slowly blew the smoke into the air,  
thinking. "You know..." She paused. "I really think I should call  
the office, now, and tell them where I am."  
  
"I really think you shouldn't." Pagan chuckled.  
  
"Why not?" Aoi looked at him. He shrugged.  
  
"Because it is likely that both the House and the Coven are  
keeping tabs on the latest information, per the hunt for you, Gwen  
and the Sailor girl, that your office is gathering."  
  
"And more than that." Mhaere turned to Aoi. "The people who  
killed Sailorjupiter.... They have a person who is working within   
the Major Crime Department."  
  
"WHAT?" Aoi almost dropped her cigarette. Almost. "Who?   
How do you know this?"  
  
"How indeed." Mhaere smiled, crookedly.  
  
"Yes, how?" Said the voice of the young woman in the red   
kimono, standing behind Mhaere. The redhead spun around to face   
Arisa, and neither Pagan nor Aoi could tell who was more surprised  
to see whom.  
  
"You! How did you...?" Mhaere began.  
  
"Mhaere?" Arisa stood back. The element of surprise, of   
appearing both when and where nobody expected her was something   
Arisa had mastered.... But this time, coming face to face with   
someone she thought to be dead.... "It is Mhaere, isn't it?"  
  
"Damn! I don't need you here, now!" The redhead peered over  
Arisa's shoulder at the dark-haired girl, standing near the   
loungeroom's far wall, with an equally stunned expression on her   
face. "Not you, too!"  
  
"Mhaere...." Maria croaked, staring, fixedly, at the redhead.  
It was Arisa who caught sight of Gwen's pale form in the armchair.  
  
"Gwen...." Arisa strode forward, past Mhaere and Pagan.   
"What have you done to Gwen?"  
  
"Nothing, actually. Well, I haven't, anyway." Arisa turned   
on Pagan, sneering angrily.  
  
"Well isn't THAT a surprise, Coven FREAK."  
  
Pagan laughed, mirthlessly. "I don't seem to remember you   
being invited in here. This is Aoi-san's house, isn't it?"  
  
"You weren't exactly invited in here, either." Aoi mumbled,  
taking another draw on her cigarette and trying to stand about as  
far away as possible from the brewing situation.  
  
Arisa stepped over to Gwen and kneeled before her, checking  
her pulse, feeling the coldness of her skin. "Thank Kami, she's not  
dead." Arisa rounded on Pagan. "You did this, didn't you!"  
  
Pagan held up his hands. "Now hold on a minute. I was   
BROUGHT here.... I didn't have anything to do with what happened to  
her. Ask Aoi, here, about it."  
  
Aoi, who had turned away, muttering to herself, suddenly   
turned as she felt Arisa's stare bore into her back. "Ask ME? I   
only thumped her once. It's not my fault she has a glass jaw."  
  
"YOU hit Gwen?" Maria strode forward, angrily. It was quite  
the wrong way to deal with Aoi.  
  
"Yeah, I hit her. She attacked, first. Besides, she tried to  
steal MY Sailorsenshi. NOBODY does that on me." Aoi pushed herself  
forward, threateningly, making Maria stop in midstep and recount.  
  
"Well.... She's my friend. Anybody who hurts her...."  
  
"If she's your FUCKING friend, then you should TELL her when   
it is polite to butt into other people's business, you understand   
me?" Aoi jabbed a finger into Maria's chest, making both Pagan and  
Mhaere nod, quite impressed by her commanding performance. Of   
course, Aoi didn't have any idea who it was she was berating. If   
she did, she might have thought twice.  
  
"I trusted you, Kikotsuka Aoi.... I thought we'd made an   
arrangement...." Arisa stood, trying to stare Aoi down, angrily.  
Aoi turned to face her.  
  
"What arrangement?"  
  
"Yeah, what arrangement?" Pagan blinked. "You mean you've  
made some kind of arrangement with the Sacred House?"  
  
"Baka..." Mhaere put a hand to her forehead, rubbing it with  
fatigued cynicism.  
  
"The ONLY bloody arrangement that was made was you giving me  
you bloody card.... What was it? If I ever get into trouble, call  
you...." Aoi shrugged. "Why would I call someone I don't know for  
help?"  
  
"That's not the point. Did Gwen try to hurt YOU in any manner  
before you... knocked her lights out?" Arisa growled.  
  
Aoi nodded. "Yeah. Course she did." Arisa's anger   
dissipated into stunned disbelief at Aoi's honesty.  
  
"You've got to be kidding! Gwen HATES hurting people. She's  
just not that kind of person."  
  
"What kind of person is she, then?" Aoi huffed. "You talk   
pretty tough for someone who was scared witless of me the last time   
we met."  
  
Arisa's face changed back into a glower. "I wasn't scared.   
Merely wary. I know what you are, and what you're capable of doing,  
even if you don't."  
  
"Yeah, I'm a mean, tough and nasty Mind Predator. And if you   
ain't careful, I'll have your brain fer dinner." Aoi sneered. "Now  
why don't you and your friend take that girl and get the hell outta  
my apartment, understand?"  
  
  
"It's not that simple, anymore." Maria interrupted.   
"You're... fraternising with a member of the Coven. We can't allow   
that to continue."  
  
"I thought the subject would change back to me." Pagan   
nodded, with arrogant satisfaction. "I'm used to being the center   
of attention."  
  
"Shutup, you!" Aoi snapped at him, then turned to Maria. "I  
really couldn't give jack shit WHO I fraternise with.... You seem   
to forget I'm currently fraternising with you, which says something  
about my poor choice of acquaintances. You're in MY house, and your  
imposing upon MY time." She turned back to Mhaere and Pagan. "And  
that includes the both of you. Now, I've got my Sailorsenshi, the  
pair of you can just fuck off, alright?"  
  
"What?" Arisa gasped.  
  
"You have a Sailorsenshi?" Maria continued.  
  
"Yeah, she's tied up in my bedroom." Aoi gestured to the   
hallway door with a nod of her head. Mhaere cringed.  
  
"Baka...."  
  
"Yeah, go ahead and tell everybody about it, why don't you."   
Pagan huffed. Arisa made for the hallway door, but was stopped by  
Aoi, gripping her arm.  
  
"And just where do you think YOU'RE going?"  
  
"Let go of my arm.... You have what we want." Arisa bared   
her teeth at Aoi.  
  
"What? You want to take MY Sailorsenshi from me? Over my   
dead body!" Aoi pulled Arisa away from the door, throwing her at  
Maria. The dark-haired woman only just managed to catch her before  
she toppled over. Aoi stood in front of the doorway, arms crossed.  
"She belongs to ME, and YOU aren't having her."  
  
"I think now my be a good time to take our leave...." Mhaere  
whispered to Pagan. He looked back at her, dubiously.  
  
"I don't have any proper clothes...." He pointed to the towel  
he was wearing. "I'll freeze to death."  
  
"We can pick up something on the way.... Things are about to   
get a little warm around here." Mhaere took him by the arm, and he  
could feel the first tingling sensations of an incipient transport.  
  
Aoi could feel them, too.... From two separate sources.   
Mhaere and Arisa. "NO WAY! You're going to transport to my   
bedroom! That's cheating!"  
  
  
At that moment, when figures should have been vanishing from  
the loungeroom, there was a flash of bright light, and Arisa fell to  
the floor in pain. Maria grabbed her and shielded her body from the  
light. After a few moments of searing pain, Maria lifted her head   
to find the loungeroom empty, of everyone except both Gwen and   
themselves.  
  
"What the hell...." Maria blinked, feeling Arisa squirm from  
underneath her. She lifted herself off the figure of her partner,   
who sat up, a dazed and reddened expression in her eyes.  
  
"She tried to stop me.... She tried to use her power to stop  
my transportation.... But she latched onto Mhaere, instead." Arisa  
clutched at her chest. "I feel like I'm going to burst...."  
  
"Oh shit.... Not here, not now...."  
  
"I can't hold it back.... It's going to happen." Arisa's   
face started to go red.  
  
  
"Nya nya.... I got away from yer ropes!" Maria turned to the  
blue-haired girl, standing in the doorway. Ami was blowing her best  
raspberry in her direction. "Thought you could tie up   
Sailormercury, did ya? Well, I'm better than that.... Bye." And  
with a cute smile, Ami ran for the front door, not even bothering to  
open it as she made her way out. Maria cringed as the sound of   
splintering wood filled the apartment.  
  
----o  
  
Mhaere, Pagan and Aoi flew through what appeared to be a   
tunnel of light, crying out in pain as beams of energy crackled   
through them. Mhaere opened an eye, peering at Aoi.  
  
"You blithering idiot. What the hell did you do that for?"  
  
"Do what?" Aoi shouted, not willing to open her eyes.  
  
"Use your power whilst I was trying to use mine."  
  
"What power? I don't HAVE any power...."  
  
"She doesn't understand..." Pagan turned to Mhaere, his eyes  
screwed shut. "She doesn't realise when she's using it...."  
  
"For KAMI's sake.... I DON'T HAVE any powers. I'm just a   
normal human being, understand?"  
  
"Yeah?" Mhaere sneered. "So why are you travelling with us,  
eh? Answer me that one, Einstein!"  
  
"Aoi opened her eyes, intent on arguing the point, when she   
witnessed their destination.... A piece of solid, cemented ground  
in the middle of a large courtyard. In the center of the courtyard  
was Kaji and two other gentlemen, one young, one old. And all three  
were running for their lives as blasts of fire and energy flew   
about. "Oh SHIT!" Aoi put up her arms as the ground flew towards   
them at great speed. The other two didn't have time to react.  
  
  
Above the grounds of the Hikawa Shrine, a large portal opened,  
and all three fell out, hitting the dirt in front of the three   
fleeing figures. Kaji came to a dead halt, with Yuuichirou running  
into him from behind.  
  
"Oi! What the HELL do you think you're doing?" Yuuichirou  
gasped, staring at Kaji, who was staring at Aoi, who was staring at  
an ant, who was staring back.  
  
"A... Aoi...." Kaji stepped forward, leaning down in front   
of his dazed partner. Yuuichirou turned to Rei's Grandfather,   
stunned.  
  
"Where did they come from?"  
  
"From the sky, Kumada-san.... It is a sign from the gods."  
The old man clenched his fists. "They have willed that my   
granddaughter become a raging demon of fire.... Perhaps they have  
sent their servants to save her from this fate."  
  
"Look like ordinary people to me." Yuuichirou shrugged, then  
ducked as a bolt of flame flew over his head. "Speaking of Rei-  
chan.... She's still after that strange young woman back there."   
He pointed to the figure of Sailormars, in pursuit of a dark-haired  
girl in equally dark clothing. The girl had attempted to kill both  
her and Saturn only a few moments before.... Not realising that the  
person she'd already downed with a shot was back up on her feet.  
  
  
Meanwhile, Mhaere and Pagan had managed to stand, staring   
around at the shrine grounds. "Where the hell are we?" Pagan asked  
as he shivered, feeling droplets of rain fall on him. Mhaere   
shrugged.  
  
"How the hell would I know? Somewhere we're supposed to have  
ended up via fate, I suppose." She cleared her throat and tugged on  
Pagan's arm, pointing to the staring figures of Yuuichirou and Rei's  
Grandfather. "I think they've noticed something."  
  
"What?" Pagan frowned at her.  
  
"You've lost your towel."  
  
  
A long period of silence passed between them. Mhaere's smile  
got wider as Pagan's face went redder.  
  
"You could have told me, sooner." He clamped his hands across  
his member.... as well as he could.  
  
"Aoi... Are you okay?" Kaji helped Aoi to her feet, a dreamy  
expression on her face as he turned her away from Pagan.  
  
"I am now.... Jeez, I need a drink...." She drooled.  
  
"Get a grip on yourself." Kaji shook her by the shoulders.  
  
"I know what I'd like to get a grip on, right now...." Aoi  
chuckled.  
  
"Ano ne.." Pagan shouted. "Would you stop making jokes about  
my....."  
  
"Clydesdale?" Mhaere snorted, trying to stop herself from   
bursting into laughter. Pagan glared at her.  
  
  
A figure flashed past Pagan and bundled Mhaere out of the way.  
Pagan felt the cold end of a pistol being stuck into his back as  
Miyuki gripped his long hair, pulling him to the ground, gasping   
for breath.  
  
Within seconds, Mars was on the scene, racing past a   
confounded Grandfather and Acolyte. It was only Aoi who managed to  
stop her charging into Pagan, gripping her arm solidly. Mars   
wheeled on her.  
  
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Mars screamed. "SHE JUST  
TRIED TO.... SHE TRIED TO KILL ME.... SHE TRIED TO KILL SATURN!"  
  
"What the hell is going on here?" Aoi stared Mars down,   
sternly. She then blinked with surprise. "Kami's feathers...   
You're a Sailorsenshi!"  
  
"Yeah? So?" Rei's face became quizzical.  
  
  
In a flash, Aoi pulled out a couple of fans, bedecked with  
the Japanese flag on them. "BWAhaha! Two Senshi in one day. Am I  
on a roll or what?"  
  
Everyone facefaulted.  
  
"Excuse me...." Said Miyuki, giving Pagan's hair a painful  
tug. "I'm trying to take this man hostage." She said it in such a  
matter of fact manner that nobody could ignore it.  
  
"Oh.... Great.... Why am I always the one who requires   
rescue?" Pagan sighed. "Maybe I should have stayed in bed this   
morning."  
  
"Shutup, you!" Miyuki sneered, arrogantly, pressing the gun  
harder into his back. "I don't need your jokes at this moment....  
Not with HER out there...."  
  
"Okay... Okay..." Pagan put up his hands, nervously.  
  
Miyuki shivered, closing her eyes for a moment, trying to shut  
out the voice of Saturn that was being projected into her mind.  
  
"Iapetus...." It echoed.  
  
  
"Mars.... What is happening?" Luna came dashing into the  
middle of the fracas. Rei turned on both her and Artemis, who   
followed.  
  
"Keep back...." She held out her hand to them. "How is   
Saturn?"  
  
"The wound is not good. She might need hospitalisation."  
Artemis shouted. A bullet struck the ground by his feet, making  
him dance back a short distance. "EEEEEE!" He fainted.  
  
"Artemis!" Rei and Luna ran over to him.  
  
"Would you like to pay me some attention, now?" Miyuki  
swallowed, angrily, glaring at them.  
  
  
Mhaere crossed her arms. "Go ahead, then, whoever you are.  
Kill him." Miyuki and Pagan stared at Mhaere.  
  
"What did you SAY?" Miyuki's normally dead expression finally   
broke into disbelief. It seemed, to Mhaere, to be the first true   
expression the girl had attempted since birth.  
  
"Yeah, kill him. It doesn't matter to us if he dies." Aoi  
stepped forward, her arms crossed. Kaji reached forward for her.  
  
"Aoi-san... Are you MAD? This girl's a cold and calculating  
killer.... She'd call your bluff."  
  
"She had no fear in shooting Sailorsaturn. I can't think of   
anyone who would be willing to do that." Luna swallowed.  
  
"Oh my KAMI!" Kaji stammered. "A talking CAT!" Luna   
facefaulted.  
  
"Ano ne.... I'm trying to support you, here."  
  
  
Miyuki's expression became deadpan again, thinking   
desperately. A smile crossed her face and she grabbed Pagan's   
member, pointing the gun at its base. "Very well, if HE doesn't   
matter to you.... I'll take THIS as hostage."  
  
"My God...." Mhaere muttered.  
  
"She found our weakness...." Aoi's face dropped. Miyuki  
chuckled to herself.  
  
"I got hold of this before you. How does that make you feel?"  
  
"I know how it makes me feel." Pagan squinted with pain as   
Miyuki squeezed.  
  
"Shutup, you."  
  
"What do you want?" Rei barked the question at her. Miyuki  
cocked her head to one side, considering her answer.  
  
"I came here on someone else's orders to kill you, Sailormars.  
I never expected to come face to face with.... with HER."  
  
"With who?"  
  
"Saturn.... I want out of here. I want away from her. It   
doesn't matter.... Just keep HER away from me!"  
  
  
"IAPETUS!" Everyone turned as the thin figure of the dark-  
haired Sailorsenshi staggered forward, resting her weight on her  
Glaive in one hand as she held the wound in her midriff with the  
other. Miyuki's face became a mask of fear.... Not something she  
had experienced, quite to this degree, at any stage of her life.  
  
"Stop calling me that!" She stood, bringing Pagan with her.   
"My name is Nakano Miyuki. I do not, will never, go by the name of   
Iapetus...."  
  
  
"Iapetus.... This is wrong.... This is not what you were   
reborn for...." Hotaru reached Rei, who took her by the arm,   
supporting her.  
  
"Shutup! I have no idea what you're talking about...."   
Miyuki threw Pagan aside, putting the gun to her temple. "I'm NOT  
Iapetus.... Leave me ALONE! LEAVE MY MIND ALONE!"  
  
  
There was a gunshot, and Saturn cried out in pain.  
  
  
END OF PART 27  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Next Chapter - "Defence and Offence"  
  
On the wettest, stormiest day for close to thirty years in my home   
city of Adelaide, I am caught within my house with nothing else to   
do but write a fanfic. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as  
much as I had writing it. ^_^  
  
  
_________  
/ @ \ DDFA (The Right Dishonourable Mark A Page)  
/ / ^ ^ \ \ ayanami@internode.on.net  
/\  
\/ \/  
\___________/  
/_/ \_\ PU 


	28. SIU part 28: Offence and Defence

Version 1.0 - 7th Aug 1998  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page)  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon and Silent Mobius are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Kia  
Asamiya, Michitaka Kikuchi, Bandai, Studio Tron, Kadokawa and   
Kodansya. All other characters were thought up by me.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Leave." The flat, emotionless voice of the minor Senshi   
struck Queen Serenity with the equivalent force of the spear staff   
the girl held within her hands. It's vicious, barbed point aimed   
directly at the Queen's heart....   
  
With her dark hair and equally dark senshi fuku, her   
silhouette bore a resemblance to an animated shadow. The only point   
of reference that Serenity had, to ground some kind of intelligence   
behind the figure, was the glimmer from the girl's eyes.... Eyes as   
dead as her voice.  
  
"This is MY palace, Iapetus. I go where I wish, and I wish to  
consult with your sleeping mistress...." Serenity stood her ground,   
despite her desire to flee from this place. She hated being here so  
much, its darkness almost draining her of the light that bound her   
being.  
  
"Leave." The Senshi's voice did not change in tone or pitch.  
She emerged from the semi-darkness of the entrance to Saturn's Rest,  
quite determined to skewer her queen with her weapon, if Serenity so  
much as dared to move another step forward.  
  
"Iapetus...." Dione's voice emerged from the Rest. Iapetus  
turned to the flamboyant figure, her dark, flared fuku complimented  
by her weapons of choice, bladed fans, unsheathed either side of her   
like wings. "Be a little more socially responsible with your   
threats.... She is our Queen."  
  
"She will leave. Nobody but we are allowed to enter the   
chamber." Iapetus raised her staff, clanging the blunt end of the   
metal rod on the ground, leaning her weight against it.  
  
"But there are exceptions allowed." Dione smiled, her fans  
clacking shut, then with a dramatic floursish, gestured with one of   
them, pointing to the faint glimmer of energy, emanating from   
Saturn. "But be warned, Queen Serenity. We shall, most certainly,   
kill you if you are to approach Saturn any closer than the inner   
circle of Pan."  
  
"Or, at the very least, you'll have to deal with Titan."   
Iapetus interjected.  
  
"Then you'll never know what hit you." Dione chuckled as she  
skipped across the entranceway in a strange little dance, her fans  
slashing through the air in graceful yet incipiently lethal strokes.  
  
  
"Be careful, Serenity-sama...." Mars, who was standing behind   
Serenity with Mercury and Jupiter, placed a hand on Serenity's   
shoulder. "Their threats are ALWAYS enacted upon."  
  
"They have no souls of their own. They are insane." Jupiter  
nodded, her arms crossed defensively.  
  
"You are wrong." Serenity turned to them. "They are people,   
like you and I. Regardless of what you might think of them, they  
deserve the same love and concern that we share."  
  
----o  
  
"I came here on someone else's orders to kill you, Sailormars.  
I never expected to come face to face with.... with HER." Miyuki   
shivered with anticipation.  
  
"With who?"  
  
"Saturn.... I want out of here. I want away from her. It   
doesn't matter.... Just keep HER away from me!"  
  
  
"IAPETUS!" Everyone turned as the thin figure of the dark-  
haired Sailorsenshi staggered forward, resting her weight on her  
Glaive in one hand as she held the wound in her midriff with the  
other. Miyuki's face became a mask of fear.... Not something she  
had experienced, quite to this degree, at any stage of her life.  
  
"Stop calling me that!" She stood, bringing Pagan with her.   
"My name is Nakano Miyuki. I do not, will never, go by the name of   
Iapetus...."  
  
  
"Iapetus.... This is wrong.... This is not what you were   
reborn for...." Hotaru reached Rei, who took her by the arm,   
supporting her.  
  
"Shutup! I have no idea what you're talking about...."   
Miyuki threw Pagan aside, putting the gun to her temple. "I'm NOT  
Iapetus.... Leave me ALONE! LEAVE MY MIND ALONE!"  
  
  
There was a gunshot, and Saturn cried out in pain.  
  
----o  
  
Part Twentyeight  
Offence and Defence  
  
----o  
  
Usagi made strange gurgling noises as her eyes spiralled, a  
large ball of flesh, known only as Cthulu Kanzaki, staring down at   
her with some surprise.  
  
He had become pretty much used to frightening people in his   
time. After all, you don't get to look like something out of an   
apocalyptic nightmare and expect people to instantaneously fall in   
love with you.  
  
"Well, the very least you could have done was introduce   
yourself before you tried to give the Princess a kiss...." Setsuna  
chided Cthulu from the nearest wall, pressing herself as close to it   
as possible, hoping he didn't take a shine to her, as well.  
  
"Rmmmphuuu...." He gurgled, disappointed that someone like   
the great Sailorpluto would treat him in much the same manner as  
everyone else. "Mrrphuu mrrphuu...."  
  
"Yes, I know NOW you don't have any hostile intentions...."  
She croaked. "But it might have been nice for you to have conveyed  
that message a little earlier.  
  
"Mrrrphuuu..." Cthulu waggled an eyestalk in her direction   
and lifted himself away from Usagi, trying not to drool over her   
like the last time he gave her his patented smooch attack.  
  
"I think I'm gonna throw uuuuup...." Usagi whined.  
  
----o  
  
Pain. The pain was momentary. And then there was nothing.  
  
Kimi sat up from her futon, breathing rapidly. It felt like   
her very soul had been ripped from her body.... Or, at least, a   
portion of that soul....  
  
She stared at the window of her bedroom. The clouds beyond  
were tinged with the colour of blood. She shot to her feet and ran  
to that window, staring out at the rain soaked rock garden.  
  
"Miyuki...." She whispered, quivering, then turned from the  
window and ran from the room....  
  
----o  
  
"It would appear our charge is somewhat concerned by   
something." The woman's voice resonated from the darkness of the   
guestroom, watching Kimi's figure dash across the courtyard. She  
turned from the open window to her companion. "Unusual that she  
should exhibit such an air of panic."  
  
"Perhaps the many demons that torment her have upped the   
ante." Her aquamarine-haired companion smiled as she rubbed her   
hands together, looking up from the small table at which she was   
knelt. "I don't think Midan-sama has manipulated her into this   
crisis."  
  
"Midan is a cruel bastard. It is most likely that her current  
fears are the product of his systematic abuse." She ran a hand   
through her short, light hair and sighed.  
  
"I'd be careful where you level such accusations. We are   
within his estate. There are ears within every wall."  
  
"I sincerely doubt he would deny such an accusation." The   
short-haired woman paced around the bare floor. "Kimi, regardless  
of whether you like or dislike her, is one sick puppy, and having a  
sicker father is not helping her, much."  
  
"You seem to forget...." Aquamarine levelled her gaze. "It  
was her who ordered us to...."  
  
"I realise that, only too well, even if you could say that our  
involvement was.... technical." Shorthair cracked her knuckles.   
"Now we're expected to finish the job.... I'm getting to like this  
whole plan less and less as things go along."  
  
"We can't turn back, now. It is too late." Aquamarine stood.  
"I think we should follow her, wherever she goes."  
  
"Why? What point is there? She'll run off, kill some poor   
suck who happens to stray into her path, then come crawling back   
home, satiated."  
  
"And we allow he to do this?" Aquamarine put her hands on her  
hips. "Besides, A little birdie is telling me that there is trouble  
brewing around her." She lifted a small mirror from behind her   
back, staring into it with some intensity. "It flashed, if for but   
a moment. Something I don't like."  
"What?"  
  
"Something to do with Saturn."  
  
"What?"  
  
Aquamarine put the mirror away, inside the jacket of her coat.  
"You do not want to know. Madness only lies along that path of   
thought...."  
  
----o  
  
The dark, painful sensation of the flesh of her own mind,   
splattering across the flat surface of the Hikawa Shrine's   
courtyard, was the first thing that Miyuki felt. Then her legs  
started to give way underneath her, eventually falling to her knees.  
  
Darkness descended upon the spirit that dwelled within. The  
darkness of escape.... From what Saturn had been trying to do to   
her... She didn't want to become infected with the emotionalism  
and sense of duty that was imbued within that dark spirit....  
  
"You're a fool, Iapetus." She could hear the voice in what  
vestiges of her mind still existed as her gun clattered to the   
ground, all motor control to her hands disappearing. "You can't  
escape from what you were that easily. I won't let you."  
  
"Go away.... I HATE you. You who abandoned me to the eternal  
loneliness.... I HATE you...."  
  
"I didn't abandon you."  
  
"You obliterated the Kingdom."  
  
"It was necessary."  
  
"I survived, as did the others."  
  
"That was your luck.... Your fortune...."  
  
"We descended into madness. Minor Senshi without a purpose."  
  
"You can have a purpose, once more."  
  
"I don't want a purpose. I'd rather be dead than be fooled   
into that kind of life, again."  
  
"I won't let death be your means of escape."  
  
"What can you do? Heal my mortal wound?"  
  
"I am the Senshi of death. I shall not allow you to die, so   
easily, Iapetus of the Loneliness...."  
  
  
Miyuki pitched forward onto her face as Rei gripped the   
screaming Hotaru. Mhaere moved forward to grab Miyuki before she  
fell to the ground, whilst Kaji and Aoi made for Hotaru as she   
slowly sank to her knees.  
  
There was a flash of light.  
  
----o  
  
Usagi was given a helping hand to the nearby bed as both she  
and Setsuna gave the gurgling Cthulu a wary glance.  
  
"How did he get out?" Usagi pointed at him.  
  
"Apparently he has the ability to gate himself about....   
Something nobody else knew."  
  
"So why did he follow me, here?"  
  
"I think he likes you." Setsuna smiled, sweatdropping. "I  
think he wants to help us get out of the Sacred House compound."  
  
"How very.... nice...." Usagi swallowed. "It's nice to know  
who your friends are...."  
  
"Well...." Setsuna took a long breath. "You are the one who  
tries to advocate looking past the exterior at the person within....  
Although, I must say, you're going to have an awful time, trying to  
exercise that philosophy, with this one."  
  
"Pluto...." Usagi whispered. "If he... it... says he wants  
to help us, why should we disbelieve him?"  
  
"Why did you believe someone like Lysithea Caprice?" Setsuna  
chided her. "If there was anyone on the face of the Earth I would  
have liked you to avoid, it was he."  
  
"I didn't trust him. But I wanted to save Mina-chan.... And  
he said he would help me."  
  
"That's what I mean. You walked right into his trap by using  
your Sailor Teleport to get into the House Compound. Now he has   
taken Carey West and has run off to... Kami knows where."  
  
"Who is Carey West?" Usagi blinked. Setsuna sighed.  
  
"Someone else I pray you never meet." She paused. "However,  
my prayers are unlikely to come to fruition. We have to save her   
before he kills her."  
  
"What does he want to kill her, for?" Usagi stood from the  
bed, clenching her fists, angrily.  
  
"Because he thinks her powers could be used to drive a   
ceremony that would open the doorway between our world and the   
hellish otherworld of Nemesis...."  
  
"NEMESIS?" Usagi croaked. "But.... Isn't that the world  
Prince Demando and his minions came from?"  
  
"The very name of Nemesis represents everything this world  
is not. Both the Black Moon and this alternate realm live up to  
that name. But no, they are not the same Nemesis."  
  
  
"Mrrphhh..." Cthulu muttered, making Usagi and Setsuna jump  
a little. They turned, looking at him questioningly. "Mrrphuu   
mrrphhhuuu." He garbled. Usagi looked up at Setsuna.  
  
"What did he say?"  
  
"He said there are people approaching this room." Setsuna  
nodded. Usagi bit her lip, looking from her senshi to Cthulu and  
back.  
  
"So.... Are you going to transport us out of here, or   
something?" She looked up, hopefully, at Setsuna, but her senshi  
shook her head.  
  
"I'm sorry. I was lucky to get this far without the security  
system going berzerk.... I think Carey set the system to watch out  
for me before she was taken." Setsuna sighed. "That's what Cthulu  
is here for." She turned to the ball of flesh, which chuckled to  
itself.  
  
"He... It... knows?" Usagi queried. "It knew that you   
wouldn't be able to use your power?" Setsuna nodded.  
  
  
Just then, the doors to the room were flung open. "See, I  
told you she was here. You just wouldn't believe me. A PURE one."  
The voice came from Naoko, who was standing in the middle of the   
small group which included her father, Gen, and several other people  
who bore the robes of senior members of the Sacred House. Naoko's  
smile disappeared as soon as she saw Cthulu, sitting on one side of  
her room. "What are YOU doing here?"  
  
"My Kami...." Gen and another elder, Akizawa Jiro, brushed  
past Naoko. staring at Usagi. It was Jiro who had spoken. "She   
is... I can see it.... Blood, purer than I've ever seen from   
someone in human form...."  
  
Setsuna looked from the new arrivals to her Princess. "Ano...  
What might they be talking about?"  
  
Before Usagi could answer, Cthulu started to make a humming  
noise, and all three of them vanished from the room. Naoko had   
raced forward as soon as she heard the noise start. "Cthulu....  
don't...." She reached the point where Cthulu had been sitting,  
way too late, falling to her knees on the floor. "Damn you,   
Cthulu... Why did you have to do this?" She gripped the carpet  
with crooked fingers, angrily.  
  
----o  
  
"Gone...." Kaji stared at the spot where Miyuki had fallen.   
Even the blood and tissue that had been sprayed across the ground   
had vanished. He turned to Aoi, who, like everyone else, was   
staring at the same vacant space. "Aoi.... Thank Kami... You're  
okay...." He spun her around to face him, only them realising the  
vacant stare that was one her face. "Aoi?"  
  
"She...." Aoi mumbled, quietly, then spun her head around to  
Saturn, who was now silent, being held by a concerned Mars. "She..  
She did something... I don't know what it was... But she..."  
  
"Ano.... Can someone get me some clothes. I'm freezing,   
here." Pagan whinged, holding both his hands over his vital   
statistics.  
  
"Oh Kami... She's dying...." Mars cradled Saturn's head in  
her arms. "Somebody, please.... Help her. She'll die if we don't  
do something, soon."  
  
"I really need some clothes, or else I'll die of the cold."   
Pagan cleared his throat. Aoi turned to him with annoyance.  
  
"All bloody right!" She stamped towards Mars and the injured  
Saturn. "Kaji...." She looked back at her partner. "Call an   
ambulance, immediately. Tell them we have a special patient for   
them to deal with."  
  
"Ano ne...." Kaji blinked, then sighed, picking his mobile   
phone out of his jacket. Whilst he made the emergency call,   
Yuuichirou, now stepping out of the shadow of Rei's Grandfather,   
approached Aoi determinedly.  
  
"Now just a minute, here.... What the hell is going on? Who   
the hell are you people? What's happened to Rei-chan?" He demanded  
of her, grabbing Aoi's arm tightly. The woman turned on him,   
snapping her arm out of his grasp.  
  
"Don't start demanding questions of me! I'm an officer of the  
law, geddit? And I'd like just a few answers as to what has been   
happening here, myself. Besides, you can find our dear buck-nekkid  
friend over there some clothes. It shall, at the very least, keep  
you occupied and out of my sight." She snarled at him. Yuuichirou  
wasn't easily intimidated by her superior attitude.  
  
"How dare you speak to me like that, cop or not...." He   
began. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned, coming face to   
face with the attractive, red-headed caucasian who had fallen   
through the wormhole with Aoi and Pagan. Mhaere shook her head,  
a soft expression on her face.  
  
"Don't bother arguing with her. You'll only lose, no matter   
how hard you try...."  
  
"It'll cost his life if he tries." Pagan had started to dance  
across the ground, trying to keep warm. "Hurry up, will you? I can  
feel portions of my body getting ready to freeze off."  
  
"Oh fucking ALRIGHT!" Aoi spat. "I'll find some clothes for  
you! That to your satisfaction?" She pounded across the ground,   
grabbing Pagan by the arm, then spun to Mhaere and Yuuichirou. "You  
two help the girl in red deal with the half-snuffed sailorsenshi.   
Just don't do too much. They belong to ME! Understand? They're   
MINE!" And with that, she dragged Pagan across the courtyard   
towards the nearest building, watched by everyone, bemusedly. Kaji  
broke the silence as he hung up his phone.  
  
"Well, an ambulance should be here, pretty soon." he stepped  
over to the side of Saturn, cringing at the sight of the wound in   
Saturn's middle. He turned to Yuuichirou. "Have you got anything  
like a bandage? To stop her bleeding...."  
  
Yuuichirou nodded, mutely, and started to tear off fabric from  
the sleeves of his acolyte's dress, in reasonably large strips. He  
handed them to Kaji, who had managed to tear away Saturn's fuku from  
the centre of the wound. He looked up at Mars, nervously. "Did you  
know that girl? The one who shot your friend, here?"  
  
"I... I've never seen her, before." Mars replied, looking   
away. Luna, who had been watching over the unconscious Artemis   
nearby, looked up at her.  
  
"You said you were expecting there to be someone after you,   
earlier.... Didn't you?"  
  
"Kami.... The cat STILL speaks...." Kaji cleared his throat,  
settling slightly. "Ah, yes... Well, is this true?" He studied   
Mars, but the girl didn't answer. He Grandfather stepped up to her,  
kneeling down beside her.  
  
"Rei-chan...." He whispered, softly. She tried to shy away  
from him, but he persisted. "Rei-chan, answer the policeman. Tell  
us what has happened to you...."  
  
"Ojiichan...." She croaked, swallowing. It was as if a   
shadow had crossed her face. "I can't.... I can't say anything.   
Leave me alone. You'll never understand."  
  
"I am your Grandfather." The elderly man felt stung by her  
words. "If you cannot trust me with your secrets, who can you   
trust?"  
  
"That bossy woman called Rei's friend, here, a   
Sailorsenshi...." Yuuichirou started as Kaji took the torn strips  
of material from him. "I take it this means you are ALSO a   
Sailorsenshi, Rei-chan?"  
  
"Don't...." Rei started. "Please. I can't talk to you now.  
Please, Ojiichan, Yuu-chan... Please.... Leave me alone."  
  
----o  
  
"My God.... Don't they have any REAL clothing in here?"   
Pagan rifled through the only wardrobe both he and Aoi had been able  
to find. So far, they had succeeded in retrieving nothing but   
religious garb. "I suppose it is going to have to do.... But I'm  
going to feel a right idiot, wearing it." He pulled out one of the  
priest robes, throwing the light material over his shoulders.   
"Beats being naked."  
  
Aoi eyed him as he tied the robe around his middle, difficult  
since the arms of the item were extremely long and baggy. He looked  
up at her, smiling. "Don't get any funny ideas."  
  
"You really are an arrogant bastard, aren't you? What makes  
you think there are any ideas running through my head?" She   
snorted. "Besides, we only met this morning. I make it a rule   
never to sleep with anyone the day I meet them."  
  
"Well, it's almost midnight. You might get your opportunity,  
soon." He stepped away from the wardrobe, staring at a large, body  
length mirror that was sitting in the corner of the room, studying  
his appearance.  
  
"You flatter yourself, you know that?" Aoi huffed and turned  
from him. He chuckled, shaking his head.  
  
"Honestly.... You are SO uptight. What was with that scene  
in the courtyard, and back in your house.... There was no need for  
that. It's a wonder you have any friends, the way you treat   
people." He stepped forward, tugging on the collar of the robe. "I  
suppose I could get used to wearing this, for the time being. I   
mean, it's not exactly fashionable, but it certainly has its good  
points...." He waited for a response from Aoi. When there was none  
forthcoming, he turned to her. She was standing in the doorway,   
face turned away from him.  
  
"I don't have many friends." She said, softly. "I find it  
difficult to deal with people, and people find it difficult to deal  
with me. I've come to accept that after a number of years." She  
sighed. "So I always put my job ahead of my personal life. It made  
seemed to make sense to me.... If you fail as a person, least you  
could succeed as a kind of expert.... I was even granted a special  
licence... They don't normally allow women to rise beyond very   
simple police work in this country, let alone even carry a gun....  
I was one of the very few to break that barrier.... I managed to  
get THAT far in my career.... But I still ended up in the bloody  
SIU..." She turned to him. "Why am I even telling you this? You  
don't need to know about my problems or feelings. They don't   
matter."  
  
"On the contrary." Pagan said, softly. "I think they matter.  
They matter a lot."  
  
"Don't patronise me.... Ignore everything I said. I slip up,  
every so often. Let out to others the kind of loser I really am."   
Her tone had become bitter. "I chase Sailorsenshi for a living. Up  
until today, I'd failed to catch even one. Now, I've got three live  
ones and a dead one to my credit. I really should be happy....   
It's all finally beginning to fall together...." She put a hand to  
her mouth as she swallowed back a choked sob, then smiled at him.  
"Yes. When I have them all, everything will be just fine. I'll be  
out of the SIU and promoted into another position. It's so simple,  
so easy..."  
  
"Aoi...." Pagan whispered as she paused. She shook her head  
and turned away once more.  
  
"My mother was the same, you know.... She was an obsessive  
woman, always throwing herself into whatever it was she'd chosen to  
do with her life.... She was also addicted to more prescription   
drugs than is possible to name, off the top of your head. I spent  
my entire childhood having to look after this.... this woman... who  
had never once shown me an ounce of affection..." She paused. "Who  
spent all her time getting totally wasted, sometimes even overdosing  
when things got really bad.... I had to act as her safety valve,   
even after she was hospitalised.... Right up until the moment she  
succeeded...."  
  
Aoi sank down, sitting on her haunches, one hand up against   
the wall. Pagan watched her as she clenched her other hand, blood  
running as her fingernails dug into her palm.  
  
"You see? You see this?" She turned to him, holding out her  
wounded hand and showing the tears on her face. "I can't even cry  
unless I'm in pain.... I don't FEEL anything. The only opportunity  
I get to FEEL is when I'm angry. And you wonder why I make myself  
angry, so often? It's like a drug.... I HAVE to feel angry. It  
makes me feel a tremendous pleasure.... Not from the control it   
gives me over others, but the enactment of EMOTION...." She   
chuckled, bitterly.  
  
"Do you think.... that gives you an excuse.... for the way you  
behave?" Pagan asked, carefully.  
  
"I don't know why I'm telling you this.... I just.... I   
just.... Who the hell else can I tell, you know?"  
  
  
Pagan stepped over to her and knelt down beside her, placing a  
hand on her shoulder. "I really don't think telling me this will   
help you salvage your reputation, any...."  
  
"Oh, you...." Aoi lifted her unwounded hand to slap him, then  
wrapped it around him and started to bawl. Pagan, surprised by this  
sudden turn of events, didn't react for a good minute or so. Then,   
for some reason unknown to him, he held onto her, trying to calm   
her.  
  
"Being a crybaby doesn't suit you at all, you know?" He   
mumbled as she slowly settled. Then she pulled herself away from   
him and stared into his face, feeling a tremendous sense of madness  
overwhelm her.  
  
She clamped her mouth over his, passionately, and was elated   
to find him responding in kind....  
  
  
END OF PART 28  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Next Chapters  
  
S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit - "Psychosis Rift"  
  
_________  
/ @ \ DDFA (The Right Dishonourable Mark A Page)  
/ / ^ ^ \ \ ayanami@internode.on.net  
/\  
\/ \/  
\___________/  
/_/ \_\ PU 


	29. SIU part 29: Psychosis Rift

Version 1.0 - 9th Aug 1998  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page)  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon and Silent Mobius are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Kia  
Asamiya, Michitaka Kikuchi, Bandai, Studio Tron, Kadokawa and   
Kodansya. All other characters were thought up by me.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Ami walked, happily, along the cold night street, allowing the   
rain to dance gently on the top of her head. It had been a long   
time since she dared feel some semblance of a simple pleasure of   
life. Like walking in the rain. She'd always run for shelter, when  
the rain would come. But now she LOVED IT!  
  
Nobody to tell her what to do, anymore.... Her mother was   
probably dead, and there were an unknown number of people, out there  
somewhere, who wanted to kill her or worse. So she decided to do   
whatever she wanted, now strangely freed of whatever barrier it had  
been that she had placed on herself.... Desires she'd always had,   
but had kept hidden under the facade of the quiet intellectual, more  
interested in study than in life.  
  
Well, of COURSE she was SMARTER than anybody else. That was   
how it was MEANT to be. She was a born GENIUS! They just didn't   
APPRECIATE her SUPERIORITY to them. She put her hands on her hips  
and laughed out loud with maniacal joy. "Yes!" She thought to   
herself. "I am a living legend!"  
  
  
She continued on her way, turning a corner and stepping into  
a street, lined with expensive town houses, with lots of equally   
expensive European cars parked outside. Ami stared at the cars,  
angrily. These bloody yuppie freaks, flashing their wealth so   
obviously and arrogantly! Her family had been one of the old rich,  
people who knew how to be wealthy but maintain a modicum of   
intelligence about putting it on display.  
  
She hated these kinds of people, and promptly went from car to  
car, letting down the tires. When one of the owners spotted her   
through his front window and came out of his house to remonstrate   
with her, she decided it was time to show him REAL power. To whit,  
she changed herself into Sailormercury before his astonished eyes,   
and thumped him to the ground with a multi-point Mercury Aqua   
Rhapsody.  
  
After laughing maniacally, hands on hips, over the poor   
bastard's dazed form, she ran from the street into another which was  
lined with shops, and proceeded to smash the shopfront windows,   
humming 'Morning Moon' as she did so.  
  
Until her stomach grumbled. She stopped as she placed a hand  
on it. Unfortunately, none of the shops were food shops, and none   
of the owners who were currently charging at her looked very likely  
to help feed her LEGENDARY stomach.  
  
So, after showing what can happen when one with superpowers   
learns just a little of self-defence martial arts, throwing the   
irate owners in every direction, she decided that she might have to  
find some way to make money, to fill her LEGENDARY stomach.  
  
She looked down at the short, blue skirt of her senshi fuku,  
and at those LEGENDARY legs of hers, and decided that selling   
herself might just be an option. After all, what man could resist  
a GOOD LOOKING, nay GORGEOUS young lady like herself with a   
combination of the PERFECT BODY and PERFECT BRAIN, dressed in a DAMN   
SEXY blue sailorsenshi fuku?  
  
She'd wipe the floor with all the other INFERIOR girls on   
offer!  
  
----o  
  
"Aoi...." Pagan whispered as she paused. She shook her head  
and turned away once more.  
  
"My mother was the same, you know.... She was an obsessive  
woman, always throwing herself into whatever it was she'd chosen to  
do with her life.... She was also addicted to more prescription   
drugs than is possible to name, off the top of your head. I spent  
my entire childhood having to look after this.... this woman... who  
had never once shown me an ounce of affection..." She paused. "Who  
spent all her time getting totally wasted, sometimes even overdosing  
when things got really bad.... I had to act as her safety valve,   
even after she was hospitalised.... Right up until the moment she  
succeeded...."  
  
Aoi sank down, sitting on her haunches, one hand up against   
the wall. Pagan watched her as she clenched her other hand, blood  
running as her fingernails dug into her palm.  
  
"You see? You see this?" She turned to him, holding out her  
wounded hand and showing the tears on her face. "I can't even cry  
unless I'm in pain.... I don't FEEL anything. The only opportunity  
I get to FEEL is when I'm angry. And you wonder why I make myself  
angry, so often? It's like a drug.... I HAVE to feel angry. It  
makes me feel a tremendous pleasure.... Not from the control it   
gives me over others, but the enactment of EMOTION...." She   
chuckled, bitterly.  
  
"Do you think.... that gives you an excuse.... for the way you  
behave?" Pagan asked, carefully.  
  
"I don't know why I'm telling you this.... I just.... I   
just.... Who the hell else can I tell, you know?"  
  
  
Pagan stepped over to her and knelt down beside her, placing a  
hand on her shoulder. "I really don't think telling me this will   
help you salvage your reputation, any...."  
  
"Oh, you...." Aoi lifted her unwounded hand to slap him, then  
wrapped it around him and started to bawl. Pagan, surprised by this  
sudden turn of events, didn't react for a good minute or so. Then,   
for some reason unknown to him, he held onto her, trying to calm   
her.  
  
"Being a crybaby doesn't suit you at all, you know?" He   
mumbled as she slowly settled. Then she pulled herself away from   
him and stared into his face, feeling a tremendous sense of madness  
overwhelm her.  
  
She clamped her mouth over his, passionately, and was elated   
to find him responding in kind....  
  
  
"Yes, you two be that way." Mhaere whispered to herself as   
she stood, quietly, outside the doorway of the room, planning the  
moment when she would barge in on them....  
  
----o  
  
Part Twentynine  
Psychosis Rift  
  
----o  
  
It was some time later, as Kaji watched the ambulance taking  
Hotaru/Saturn away, that he realised that neither Aoi nor Pagan had  
returned. Nor was Mhaere anywhere to be seen. He turned to the old  
priest, who had also been helping co-ordinate the medics and police  
investigators that had arrived in bulk after Kaji's calls for help,   
standing next to him.  
  
After glancing in the direction of Mars, who had turned out to  
be Hino Rei, the granddaughter of the priest, sitting sullenly some  
distance away in the care of one of the investigators that were now  
combing the grounds of the shrine, along with the two talking cats,   
he queried the old man. "Where did officer Kikotsuka and that naked  
guy get to?"  
  
Rei's Grandfather turned to him, surprised by the question.   
Uhh... I'm not certain. I sent Kumada-san to look for them and the  
red-haired Caucasian girl...." He paused for a moment. "Strange,   
you know.... The three of them... Just fell out of thin-air...."  
  
"I know. I saw it, myself." Kaji rubbed his chin as the old  
man paused, trying to gather his words together in his mind.  
  
"I've.... seen a lot of things in my life. I was a soldier   
during the war, you know.... I served as part of the home defence  
force because of my training as a priest." He paused. "Because of  
that, I had been sent to remote places where the spiritual   
emanations have culminated in a long succession of strange events,   
some I'm not sure even happened.... Lights in the sky.... Haunted  
old buildings.... Monsters in the wooded valleys...." He paused  
again. "But.... I've never seen anything, not even in all my years  
as a priest, to match what I've seen today."  
  
Kaji smiled, nodding. "I know what you mean. It hasn't been  
one of my good days, either. And I get the distinct impression that  
it isn't going to get any better." He reached into his pocket and  
pulled out a packet of cigarettes, opening it. "What do you think   
it was, some kind of worm hole?" The old man rubbed his chin,   
considering Kaji's question seriously.  
  
"I've seen wormholes, before. I was once called upon to seal  
one up at a construction site when beasts from another realm started  
making their way through. Very dangerous event... Quite a few   
people were hurt." He nodded. "Yes, it certainly wasn't a   
wormhole, but I have seen this kind of thing before." He turned to  
Kaji, who had lit a cigarette that was hanging from the side of his  
mouth. "You seem to have a very open-minded attitude to these   
things, officer."  
  
"I've had to." Kaji chuckled, blowing smoke into the air.   
"I'm a member of the Sailor Investigation Unit. I look into the   
affairs and events involving your granddaughter and her friends."   
Kaji looked back over at Rei. "I take it you had no idea she WAS a  
Sailorsenshi?"  
  
"No. No idea at all. She's going to get a right scolding   
when I get an opportunity." The old man thought it over for a few  
moments, only then realising the ridiculousness of his words. "What  
can I do or say? She's been running around, these last few years,  
trying to be some kind of superhero. I've always pictured myself in  
those terms.... The priest who runs about the country, exorcising  
spirits and demons, left, right and centre.... I shouldn't have   
expected her to be any different. After all, there are elements in  
her personality that are very much like mine." He smiled,   
shrugging.  
  
  
"Oushou! Oushou!" The sound of Yuuichirou's voice rang   
across the courtyard as he approached the pair, running. They both  
watched as he came to a screeching halt in front of them, trying to  
catch his breath. "I'm sorry.... I found them.... Those three   
that fell from the sky...." He leant down on his knees, puffing  
heavily. "I'm just not as fit as I used to be."  
  
"And?" Kaji sniffed with impatience. Yuuichirou looked up at  
him, shrugging.  
  
"They're having an argument."  
  
"They're what?" Kaji raised an eyebrow. "Well, I have to   
say, that shouldn't be too difficult where Aoi is concerned."  
  
----o  
  
"What do you mean, take Pagan but not me?" Aoi stood at the  
far side of the wardrobe room, hanging onto Pagan's arm. Not long  
before, Mhaere had made the pretence of barging into the room as Aoi  
and Pagan were beginning to get, for want of a better term, a little  
excited. What followed was a comical scampering of the two to the  
opposite ends of the room, babbling some apologies for not seeing  
her immediately. When, of course, Aoi noticed it was Mhaere, her  
territorial side took over, and she was back across the floor and in  
between Pagan and Mhaere like the Great Wall of China.  
  
"Look, I can't have anyone else getting involved in this, and  
I'm certainly not having YOU involved.... Not with the powers you  
posses.... It might only make things worse than they are, now."   
Mhaere sighed, adding to her memory the fact that she should never,  
again, let Pagan out of her sight, especially within 100 miles of   
Aoi.  
  
"Look, girlie.... I don't HAVE any powers, understand? I'm  
just normal people. And anyway, we have to get back to my house,  
otherwise those girls will take Ami.... I can't have her ending up  
in the hands of some psycho cult type of group, not after having  
finally bagged a senshi like her...." Aoi clutched onto Pagan's   
arm, VERY tightly. "Besides, you're after Pagan, yourself. I'd be  
stupid to give him over to you."  
  
"Since when have YOU shown any interest in him? Relations   
between the two of you have been fairly cool up until now...."   
Mhaere shook her head. "No, you're just distracting me.... Pagan  
wanted proof of Lysithea Caprice's activities, and I must give it to  
him, regardless, because what Lysithea is doing is more dangerous  
than any of us realise."  
  
"She's right." Pagan nodded, looking at Aoi, who looked back  
up at him. He sighed. "If what she says is right, Lysithea is   
planning to open the barrier between Earth and Nemesis.... I've  
known him for years.... I can't believe he would do such a thing...  
Use the Coven in this way.... But I have to see for myself."   
  
Aoi looked deflated. "You prefer to go with her, without me?"  
He swallowed, sweatdropping.  
  
"Actually...." He started, but didn't get an opportunity to  
continue. Chuckling to herself, Mhaere clicked her fingers, and   
both she and Pagan faded. Aoi watched in disbelief as their forms  
became mere shadows, then dissipated.  
  
"You...." Aoi clenched her fists, angrily. "YOU BITCH! I'LL  
GET YOU FOR THIS!"  
  
----o  
  
Shimazaki leaned back in his seat, staring at the office   
ceiling, thinking to himself. There really didn't seem to be   
anything more he could do, right at this moment....  
  
His one and only remaining witness/suspect to the killing of  
the Sailorsenshi Kino Makoto, Doctor Mizuno, had been murdered in   
the holding cells of the station, and the killer had escaped,   
somehow, dashing away at the speed of light, too fast for even the   
Duty Officer at the time to see....  
  
He considered the "invisible girl" who had taken off with both  
Mizuno's daughter, Ami, who had also presented herself as   
Sailormercury, and that damned Kikotsuka woman.... But it just   
didn't seem right.... Why try and kidnap one and kill the other?   
Surely, if you wanted to silence both, just kill both.  
  
  
The office door opened and he turned to greet Abe, who   
entered, smiling. "Hey, Shimo-san, guess what?"  
  
"I'm sure you'll tell me, anyway. What?"  
  
"Kaji's found Kiko-san, safe and well.... And a couple more  
Sailor girls. Ain't that great?"  
  
Shimazaki rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'm just over the moon.   
Was one of those Sailor girls Mizuno Ami?"  
  
"Sorry, he didn't say. But one of them was badly wounded....  
Had to be taken off to hospital. I heard she was Saturn, of all the  
ones that could have been found."  
  
"Shee...." Shimazaki bit his lip. "Handle with care, lest   
you set off the end of the world."  
  
"Hmm." Abe nodded. "Anyway.... Where's Go gone? I've been  
looking for him."  
  
Shimazaki gestured to the empty office. "As you can see, he   
ain't here. As to where he's gone, your guess is as good as mine.   
He scarpered almost as soon as he'd told us about Mizuno's death.  
Dunno where."  
  
Abe nodded. "Strange that.... Your boss told everyone to   
keep their mouths shut about that, for up to two hours after it   
occured."  
  
"Yeah, but Katarin's Major Crime. He'd know straight away as  
part of his job...."  
  
"Who told him? Your boss certainly didn't, and he wasn't   
anywhere near the holding cells at the time.... I just seemed   
strange."  
  
"Maybe someone told him. I dunno.... The old man has kept  
both Katarin and me away from this, cos of our work on the Kino   
case."  
  
----o  
  
"You're sure you're not interested? I mean, have a look at   
me. I'm cute, sexy and I wear a bitchin' sailorfuku...." Mercury  
hung from the arm of the embarrassed salaryman who, nevertheless,   
found the concept of bedding a Sailorsenshi attractive.  
  
"Ahem.... I'm sorry.... I have to go HOME to my WIFE and   
KIDS. Now, if you will excuse me...." He tried to pull himself   
away from her, but she was determined.  
  
"Aww... Come on, I need the money and I'm hungry. You just  
don't like me, do you?" She batted her eyelids at him. After   
swallowing, and nervously peering at everyone who was staring at   
them as they walked past on the busy city street in the middle of   
the nightclub district, he shook his head.  
  
"Really, I'm sorry, Miss Sailormercury or whatever you wish to  
call yourself.... I'm not into.... Not into..." His eyes bugged   
as she loosened the bow on the front of the fuku, putting a greater  
amount of cleavage on display. He only just managed to tear his   
eyes away. "No! I'm sorry! Now, please, let me be on my way!"  
  
He wrenched away from her, much to her surprise, and started  
to walk away. Mercury was furious. "YOU DICKLESS BASTARD! I BET   
YOU'RE FUCKING IMPOTENT! AND YOU'RE UGLY, TOO, YOU OLD BASTARD! I  
WAS GIVING YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO RELIVE YOUR YOUTH AND YOU GO AND DO  
THIS! WELL, SIT ON THIS, EUNUCH-SAN!" She gave the salaryman the  
bird and tromped away, arms crossed, bundling anyone who dared get   
in her path aside. "Damn. Maybe I'm not as saleable an item as I  
thought...." She paused. "What am I saying? I'M DAMN GOOD! He  
just had no TASTE!" And with that, she started laughing maniacally.  
  
Then her stomach grumbled. She paused and put a hand to her  
belly. "Ahhh.... I wanna eat...." She turned to her left, and   
started to drool as she spotted the cafeteria. In seconds, she was   
jammed up against the window. "Oooohh.... Fooooooood....." She  
started to shiver as she watched the patrons downing cakes, coffee,   
liqueurs and such. "How dare those people in there eat in front of  
the great SAILORMERCURY! MERCURY AQUA RAPSODY!"  
  
What followed was not pretty.  
  
----o  
  
Hotaru opened her eyes to the pale, anemic, white-walled   
silence of the hospital room, and the eyes of the young woman who   
had killed herself, only hours before, in her presence. Hotaru   
blinked, trying to focus her dazed and confused mind on the equally   
dazed and confused face of Miyuki.  
  
"You.... contrive to return to the light...." Miyuki mumbled.  
"And force me to come with you...." She swallowed, rubbing a hand   
on the side of her temple to which she had held her gun. Hotaru   
momentarily looked around the room, trying to work out why Miyuki   
was being allowed to visit her.... Here, inside the emergency ward  
of the local hospital. The silence that filled her private room was  
louder than she could bear.  
  
There was nobody else in sight. Just Miyuki, looking frailer  
and more frightened than Hotaru could imagine the girl ever being.   
She came across as someone who was used to comfortable absolutes and  
resolutions.... Anything that harboured in between rattled her. To  
be brought back to life, after attempting to kill herself to get   
away from Hotaru must have come as something of a shock.  
  
"I.... just didn't.... want you to... die..." Hotaru croaked,  
feeling drained of all her energy, helpless as a rag doll underneath  
the patently inadequate covers of the hospital bed, feeling the   
unpleasant sensation of tubes and monitors, hooked up and running   
into her arms and nose. It astonished her to think that she could  
ever reach this poor condition, simply by exercising her own powers.  
That and the wound that had been delivered, courtesy of Miyuki and   
her gun.  
  
  
Miyuki studied her, with the casual eye of a predator studying  
its prey, trying to size them up and decide whether to move in for   
the kill. "I could kill you now, you know?" She said, flatly.   
"Kill you, and there wouldn't be a single thing you'd be able to do  
about it."  
  
Hotaru met her gaze. "Would... you?" She coughed, feeling a  
tight, burning sensation in her chest. She didn't want to look down  
to see the wound that was causing the discomfort. The look on   
Miyuki's face when her eyes were lowered to that part of her torso   
was enough to tell her how bad things were. "I... take it... that I  
survived... the operation...?"  
  
"My aim has never been poor. I have always killed with every  
deliberate shot. With you, I aimed to kill. And I failed. It is  
that simple. Your heart was merely grazed, your lungs suffered most  
of the damage." Miyuki paused for a moment. "But then, you really  
don't need to know the full extent of your injuries, do you? As far  
as your concerned, if it hurts, it must be bad. All of your kind   
think the same way."  
  
"What... is different.... about me?" Hotaru coughed again,   
feeling more discomfort. Miyuki didn't answer, staring at her.   
Hotaru wondered if the girl was thinking.... She knew, through the  
probing of her mind, that Miyuki was more than a deep thinker, the  
opposite of her cold and sullen exterior. But her thoughts were  
askew, in a way that Hotaru could not even begin to fathom.  
  
"Yes. What is different about you?" Miyuki pulled her pistol  
from her jacket and held the business end up to Hotaru's face. The  
Saturn senshi almost wet herself on the spot. "I could kill you,   
right here, right now. Nobody would know who did it, because they  
wouldn't be able to catch me. Understand? I'm too good for the piss   
poor security guards the hospital hires. I'm too good for the  
law itself. I get away, every time, with what I've done."  
  
"Does it.... make you feel good..?" Hotaru croaked, "Does it  
fill you... with a sense of thrill? A thrill... that is lacking...  
in the rest of... your life..." She coughed, feeling drool run down  
the side of her mouth as a shiver ran through Miyuki.... An almost  
uncontrollable anger, building up within her. She hated the   
sensation of emotion. It disturbed her thoughts.  
  
  
"Shutup, and shutup now. I won't say it again. I am not some  
benevolent enemy that has a 'good' side that can be convinced of the  
right moral position to which you and your kind subscribe." Miyuki  
bit her lower lip to hide the sneer that tried to cross her face.   
"I know you sailorsluts better than you think.... I've had   
experience with you, before." Her trigger finger trembled. "Not  
only the way you hurt Kimi, by exposing her mother to the law,   
forcing her to kill herself to maintain the family honour.... And,  
Kami knows, that is more than enough to punish you.... No, it is   
the two-faced nature that exists amongst you...."  
  
"What... are you talking... about?" Hotaru peered into the  
barrel of the gun, the entire scene washed with a sense of   
surrealism. Miyuki's finger continued to tremble, like she wanted  
to silence her one time mistress.... Hotaru wondered whether she  
should try to calm the girl by entering her mind, once more, but  
decided, considering the effect that had on Miyuki the last time,  
she'd probably end up with a bullet through the brain that much  
quicker.  
  
"I'm talking about those traitorous bitches.... The ones  
you call Uranus and Neptune...." Miyuki spat the names like they  
were venom. "Do you realise for how long they have been working  
against you? Do you realise their culpability in the death of your  
comrade, Jupiter?" Hotaru was too dumbstruck by these words to give  
her an answer. Miyuki nodded. "No, I can see you don't know. How  
does it feel to have been so totally betrayed?"  
  
"I... don't believe... you..." Hotaru could feel tears coming  
to her eyes. Was Miyuki trying to deceive her? No. There would be  
no point, and someone like Miyuki didn't do anything without a   
point. But surely, creating some fantasy with which to base her   
contempt for Saturn was enough of a point, a reason.... But the   
more Hotaru thought about it, the less likely that seemed.  
  
"Yes. You do." Miyuki's tone became flat and lifeless, once  
more. "There is no alternative. You now face a situation that is  
beyond your control and understanding. That is why you Sailorsluts  
are in the appalling state you are now. Do you know where your   
friends are? Apart from Mars, I think not." Miyuki lifted the gun  
away from Hotaru's face.  
  
"I know... where some of them... are..." Even as she said it,  
Hotaru didn't sound so sure of herself. Miyuki shook her head and  
replaced the gun in her jacket, looking tired and pale.  
  
  
"What did you do to me? How did you stop my death? My   
dying?" Miyuki started to wander around. "How did I get here?   
This hospital...." She gestured around the room. "I feel... I can   
feel Kimi.... I can feel her, alone, in the darkness.... Where is   
she? Where has she gone? What is her destiny?" She leant herself   
against the far wall, at the edge of Hotaru's vision, and slowly   
slid down....  
  
"Dione.... is searching... for her... longtime friend. Are...  
you going... to allow her... to meet the... destiny you foresee?"  
Hotaru rasped. Miyuki sat on the floor holding her face in her   
hands, making not a sound. "Understand... Iapetus... Understand  
why... I saved you..."  
  
  
Hotaru watched as Miyuki vanished, in silence. The rushing  
winds of eternity, in its infinite silence, blowing through the room  
in all its terrifying magnitude, settling, replaced by the normal  
sounds of the hospital. Hotaru sighed, and closed her eyes.  
  
  
END OF PART 29  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Next Chapter - "Bad Karma"  
  
_________  
/ @ \ DDFA (The Right Dishonourable Mark A Page)  
/ / ^ ^ \ \ ayanami@internode.on.net  
/\  
\/ \/  
\___________/  
/_/ \_\ PU 


	30. SIU part 30: Bad Karma, Bad Blood

Version 1.0 - 18th Aug 1998  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page)  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon and Silent Mobius are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Kia  
Asamiya, Michitaka Kikuchi, Bandai, Studio Tron, Kadokawa and   
Kodansya. All other characters were thought up by me.  
  
Warning - this chapter contains scenes that would be most correctly  
described as gruesome. Thusly, I rate this chapter as R.... You   
have been warned.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Shutup, and shutup now. I won't say it again. I am not some  
benevolent enemy that has a 'good' side that can be convinced of the  
right moral position to which you and your kind subscribe." Miyuki  
bit her lower lip to hide the sneer that tried to cross her face.   
"I know you sailorsluts better than you think.... I've had   
experience with you, before." Her trigger finger trembled. "Not  
only the way you hurt Kimi, by exposing her mother to the law,   
forcing her to kill herself to maintain the family honour.... And,  
Kami knows, that is more than enough to punish you.... No, it is   
the two-faced nature that exists amongst you...."  
  
"What... are you talking... about?" Hotaru peered into the  
barrel of the gun, the entire scene washed with a sense of   
surrealism. Miyuki's finger continued to tremble, like she wanted  
to silence her one time mistress.... Hotaru wondered whether she  
should try to calm the girl by entering her mind, once more, but  
decided, considering the effect that had on Miyuki the last time,  
she'd probably end up with a bullet through the brain that much  
quicker.  
  
"I'm talking about those traitorous bitches.... The ones  
you call Uranus and Neptune...." Miyuki spat the names like they  
were venom. "Do you realise for how long they have been working  
against you? Do you realise their culpability in the death of your  
comrade, Jupiter?" Hotaru was too dumbstruck by these words to give  
her an answer. Miyuki nodded. "No, I can see you don't know. How  
does it feel to have been so totally betrayed?"  
  
"I... don't believe... you..." Hotaru could feel tears coming  
to her eyes. Was Miyuki trying to deceive her? No. There would be  
no point, and someone like Miyuki didn't do anything without a   
point. But surely, creating some fantasy with which to base her   
contempt for Saturn was enough of a point, a reason.... But the   
more Hotaru thought about it, the less likely that seemed.  
  
"Yes. You do." Miyuki's tone became flat and lifeless, once  
more. "There is no alternative. You now face a situation that is  
beyond your control and understanding. That is why you Sailorsluts  
are in the appalling state you are now. Do you know where your   
friends are? Apart from Mars, I think not." Miyuki lifted the gun  
away from Hotaru's face.  
  
"I know... where some of them... are..." Even as she said it,  
Hotaru didn't sound so sure of herself. Miyuki shook her head and  
replaced the gun in her jacket, looking tired and pale.  
  
  
"What did you do to me? How did you stop my death? My   
dying?" Miyuki started to wander around. "How did I get here?   
This hospital...." She gestured around the room. "I feel... I can   
feel Kimi.... I can feel her, alone, in the darkness.... Where is   
she? Where has she gone? What is her destiny?" She leant herself   
against the far wall, at the edge of Hotaru's vision, and slowly   
slid down....  
  
"Dione.... is searching... for her... longtime friend. Are...  
you going... to allow her... to meet the... destiny you foresee?"  
Hotaru rasped. Miyuki sat on the floor holding her face in her   
hands, making not a sound. "Understand... Iapetus... Understand  
why... I saved you..."  
  
  
Hotaru watched as Miyuki vanished, in silence. The rushing  
winds of eternity, in its infinite silence, blowing through the room  
in all its terrifying magnitude, settling, replaced by the normal  
sounds of the hospital. Hotaru sighed, and closed her eyes.  
  
----o  
  
Part Thirty  
Bad Karma, Bad Blood  
  
----o  
  
Shimazaki sighed as Kurabuto paced the office, speaking to   
the Chief of the SIU on his mobile phone. Things were starting to   
get complicated, and Kurabuto hated complicated things. Sinking  
deeper into his seat, Shimazaki stared at a particular corner of  
the office ceiling.  
  
"I see. Aha...." Kurabuto said through clenched teeth. "So  
what did she do next? Uhuh.... What, both thieves? Oh Kami.....  
She did WHAT with the telephone wire? Oh, for pity's sake..."   
Kurabuto rubbed his forehead. "Yes... Yes... I know we had her in  
here for questioning... Look, it was YOUR officer who hid her from  
us.... I KNOW Kikotsuka-san can be a bit eccentric, sometimes....  
Look, it's not OUR fault if one of the Sailorsenshi decide to act as  
a living natural disaster...."  
  
Shimazaki cringed and pushed himself back from his desk.   
Kurabuto turned to him as he stood from his seat. "Where are you  
going?"  
  
"I'm going to look for Go-kun.... I can't just sit here all  
night, listening to tales of woe from the uniformed division...."  
  
"Now just wait a minute.... No, I wasn't talking to you,   
Kato-san...." Kurabuto's attention returned to his mobile. "I was  
speaking to Shimazaki-san.... Yes, the slimy little.... Look, I  
don't have time to slate my own officers...."  
  
  
Shimazaki shook his head and stepped around his desk, walking  
out of the office and into the quiet of the corridor beyond. It was  
then that his own mobile began to beep. Picking it out from within  
his jacket, he answered. "Hello? Moshi-moshi..." There was no   
reply, merely a series of soft tones and clicks. He lifted it from  
his ear and looked at the display.  
  
SHIRANUI KIMI - GO  
  
  
Shimazaki stared at the pager display, pressing a couple of   
buttons to be sure that the message was from Katarin. It certainly  
came from Katarin's number....  
  
He tried to decipher the short, cryptic message, unable to   
understand why Katarin would use the pager service, rather than   
simply phone him and tell him, straight out, what the hell he was  
trying to say. He'd heard the name, before.... Shiranui.... There  
was a Shiranui family within the Yakuza....  
  
He stood there for several minutes, leaning against the   
corridor wall, pondering this. He even checked the time Katarin had  
left the message.... A couple of hours earlier, around the time he  
had disappeared.... run off... whatever, shortly after telling him  
about the murder of Doctor Mizuno....  
  
Surely, this couldn't have something to do with Mizuno and the  
Sailorjupiter murder case? Shimazaki frustratedly ran a hand   
through his hair. Shiranui Kimi.... Shiranui Kimi.... The   
daughter of... Shiranui Midan... The nominal leader of the   
Shiranui family!  
  
  
Of course! It was the Sailorsenshi who had infiltrated the  
Shiranui Yakuza, bringing down several underworld operations they   
had been running.... Naturally, the Sailorsenshi would be a target  
for them.... Shimazaki had worked on the case with Katarin,   
including the ritual suicide of Midan's wife.... Midan was behind   
it all, of course, but he had that manipulative skill to place   
others in a position to take the fall, regardless of whether they   
were family or not. It had astounded Shimazaki how Midan was   
capable of redeeming himself of the guilt, within his own mind, of  
his actions....  
  
And that would mean that he wouldn't have any qualms about   
using his own daughter to take his revenge out on the Sailorsenshi.  
Shiranui Kimi, the thoughroughly insane child, who would be more   
than happy to organise the systematic killing of the Sailorsenshi.  
  
  
But how did Katarin come to know of this? A cold shiver ran  
through Shimazaki.... Doctor Mizuno was killed by someone who had  
access and knowledge of the station. Was it possible that Katarin  
had been involved with the conspiracy from the start? He thought  
back, to the moment when they had picked Doctor Mizuno up from the  
hospital.... Katarin had said something along the lines that they  
would be expected, or something of a similar nature. He hadn't  
questioned Katarin on that point then, but Katarin KNEW Doctor   
Mizuno was going to give herself up. HE KNEW. It was more than   
possible that he had been the one who had killed her....  
  
Quickly, he pressed a button on his mobile and listened to the  
dial tone, followed by the soft buzzing of Katarin's mobile ringing.  
He paced back and forth across the corridor as it rang, and rang,   
and rang... out. With frustration, he hung it up and placed it in   
his coat, walking purposefully along the corridor, towards the main  
lift. There was only one way to get any answers to the questions he  
had. Confront Katarin himself.  
  
  
If he was still around to confront, that was.  
  
----o  
  
Kaji rolled his eyes as Aoi gripped the collar of his coat.   
"Look, Aoi-san, if you have no idea where they might have gone, how   
on Earth are we going to look for them?"  
  
"I'm telling you, they went to the base of the Coven of   
Atrocity.... That bitch dragged Pagan away for Kami knows what   
reason...." Aoi tugged on the coat. "We can't allow her to have   
her way with him.... I mean...."  
  
"I know what you mean." Kaji sighed. "And can you let go of   
my coat? It's embarrassing having you do that." He pointed to the   
police investigators, Yuuichirou and Rei's Grandfather, who were   
standing on the other side of the wardrobe room, doing their best   
to avoid joining in the conversation by looking in every possible   
direction. Aoi let go of Kaji's coat with a nervous little giggle.  
  
"Oops.... Gomen."  
  
"Honestly, Aoi.... You're acting like a child.... What the   
hell happened to you in the time you were missing?" Kaji stuck his  
hands in his pockets, annoyed.  
  
"Don't ask." Aoi waved at him and turned away. "You really  
don't want to know."  
  
"Where were you, anyway?"  
  
"At my place. At least, that was where that red-haired demon  
took us.... The phantom girl, the sailor and me...." Aoi huffed.  
"Now those Sacred House bitches have got the Sailor...." She   
sighed.  
  
"Who has got who?" Kaji raised an eyebrow.  
  
"These girls from the Sacred House.... They were at my place  
when we got transferred here.... They've probably grabbed the   
Mizuno girl.... Sailormercury.... And run like heck."  
  
"Ano...." One of the investigators stepped forward, a young   
officer by the name of Ube. "Did you say... Sailormercury?"  
  
Aoi turned to him, blinking. "Yeah. Why?"  
  
Ube shifted on his feet, nervously. "Well, we got message, on  
our way here, that there was some chick, fitting Mercury's   
description, running amok in the Ginza...."  
  
"Eh?" Aoi's jaw hit the floor. "In the Ginza District?"  
  
"Hai." Ube nodded. "Apparently she was harassing passers by,  
ANYONE, trying to sell herself. Two uniforms who tried to stop her   
got their heads kicked in.... They thought she was just some girl  
playing on the Sailor-fetish stuff to get the clientele.... Then   
she went berserk, using her powers to smash the frontage on a bar  
cafe, beat up everyone inside, ate as much food as she could, then  
started making mad, passionate love to the shop owner before   
smacking around a couple of thieves who were trying to take off with  
cash from the till during the distraction...."  
  
"Kami shit." Aoi staggered back across the room, sitting down  
against the wall. "I thought I'd tied her to the bed, good and   
proper...."  
  
"Ano...." Kaji blinked. "What is this about tying her to the  
bed?" Aoi looked up at him, then blushed a beetroot red.  
  
"I didn't tie her up for THOSE kinds of reasons, you idiot."   
Ube didn't know where to look as steam rose from underneath Kaji's   
coat.  
  
"Uhh... Yeah. Right." Kaji paused, lost for words.  
  
"Just why did you tie her up, then?" The soft voice came from  
outside the room. Everyone turned as Rei, still transformed as   
Mars, slowly wandered into the room, stepping between investigators  
who parted like the waters of the Red Sea for her, flanked by Luna   
and Artemis. Aoi sniffed and waved a hand dismissively at her.  
  
"If you've been listening to our conversation, you'll   
understand why." Aoi turned away, wanting to leave the subject   
there, but Rei wasn't satisfied.  
  
"Pretend I don't understand."  
  
Aoi sighed and stood. "She's gone mad, that's why. Pagan did  
something to her mind...."  
  
"Who?" Luna frowned. Most of the investigators backed away   
from the cat. Artemis, still dazed after fainting, sighed and   
curled up on the floor, placing his paws over his head.  
  
"I know nothing, I know nothing...." He muttered.  
  
Aoi rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "The naked guy, of   
course. The one who fell through that hole thingy with me and the  
red-headed bitch, into the courtyard outside. The one she stole   
from me." Aoi punched a fist into her other hand. "I'll get her if  
it is the last thing I do."  
  
"What did he do to her?" Rei ranged forward on Aoi,   
threateningly. Aoi was not impressed.  
  
"He fixed her brain, so to speak. You can say he hammered   
back together the bits that had fallen off." Aoi prodded Rei in the  
chest. "And don't come at me all threatening, young woman. You   
might be a Sailorsenshi, but you're lower than shit in my world."  
  
"You BITCH!" Rei lifted her hand back to slap Aoi, hard,   
across the chops. A slap that never came as Kaji gripped her wrist.  
  
"That will be all, young lady." He growled at her as she spun   
to him. His greater physical presence intimidated her enough into  
cooling down. She whipped her arm away from him and tromped over to  
the corner of the room, brooding. Yuuichirou went over to her side,  
tentatively trying to calm her down. Kaji then turned to Aoi. "You  
overstepped the mark there, Kiko-san."  
  
"I don't want to hear it..." She started, before Kaji slammed  
her back into the wall, both hands gripping her shoulders.  
  
"I SAID, YOU OVERSTEPPED THE MARK THERE, KIKO-SAN!" Aoi   
cringed, visibly, under Kaji's rage.  
  
"Kaji..." She croaked.  
  
"You really don't know how much trouble you're in, do you?   
First, trying to HIDE a potential SUSPECT for the Kino murder from   
the Majors, then disappearing like that.... Some people have been   
saying you RAN OFF with the girl.... There will possibly be a   
disciplinary committee report into this. You'll probably even be  
demoted, or transferred. Whatever the case, Kiko-san, your career  
depends very much on your good behaviour from here on, DO YOU   
UNDERSTAND ME?"  
  
"H...." She stuttered. "H... Hai..." Aoi swallowed, feeling  
tears coming to her eyes as Kaji let her go, stepping away. She   
knew, in her mind, that something would probably happen because of  
her handling of the Mizuno affair, but hearing it from Kaji's   
mouth.... So forcefully.....  
  
"Whatever the case, it is obvious that these Sacred House   
girls do not have Mizuno as their captive." Kaji rubbed his chin   
for a moment. "If they were in your house, I wonder what stopped   
them taking her, or if she somehow managed to escape, what stopped   
them chasing her...."  
  
----o  
  
Maria switched on the light to the bathroom and stared into  
its unfamiliar decor. She searched, desperately, for a bathtub, and  
was relieved to find a rather large one, sitting behind the far shower   
screen. The floor and walls of the bathroom were still damp from   
their previous use and Maria cursed as she left the doorway to search   
for towels.  
  
Upon returning with a pile, she placed the towels in the   
corner of the room and started laying them out, one by one, from the  
doorway to the side of the bath. Satisfied that she had created a  
dry path from the door, she took one of the spare towels and started   
to dry the fine layer of settled water vapour from the surface of   
the bathtub. She worked with a feverish speed, swallowing as she   
heard the gasps from her friend in the loungeroom of Aoi's unit.  
  
She closed her eyes and shivered at the thought of what was to  
come. She had been through this before.... Many a time, but she   
never quite become used to Arisa's condition. Trapped within the  
confines of Aoi's apartment, with the knowledge that Arisa wouldn't  
be able to use her transportation powers and with Gwen completely   
out of the picture, Maria was forced to make a hurried decision   
about what to do. She had attempted to calm Arisa.... It had   
worked, on occasion. However, Arisa was far too gone for that to be  
successful, this time. Maria could feel the quivering sensation in  
Arisa's chest as the hinges within her ribcage threatened to spring  
open.  
  
It wouldn't happen yet, of course. Arisa did have some   
control over her condition. But it was going to have to happen, and  
Maria hated it. So, as she sat back on her haunches, satisfied that  
the bathtub was now bone dry, she casually tossed the towel aside   
and let out a long breath, resigning herself to the fate of being  
Arisa's keeper. Slowly, she stood and stepped from the bathroom,   
along the corridor and to the loungeroom doorway, where she watched  
Arisa, curled up on her side, on the floor, hugging her chest.  
  
Her face was bright red. Maria knew Arisa was holding on as   
well as she could.... But time was now of the essence. Maria   
stepped over to Arisa's side and knelt down, dragging Arisa's head   
into her lap. Arisa's eyes, that had been screwed shut with the   
effort, now stared hopefully up at her. Maria smiled, weakly, and  
gripped the loose collar of Arisa's trademark red kimono, roughly   
pulling it open and down over her shoulders. She then lifted Arisa  
into a sitting position, nervously watching as Arisa's chest started  
to heave, and untied the ribbon that held the fabric of the kimono  
to her form.  
  
She tossed the ribbon aside and stripped Arisa completely of  
clothing. Arisa's thin form was now ghostly pale.... Another   
reason Maria hated her condition.... She always looked as if she   
were about to die. Placing her arms behind Arisa's back and   
underneath her legs, she lifted Arisa as she got to her feet. Arisa  
let out a short, sharp gasp, tears running from her eyes. "Not long  
now.... The bath is suitable. Soon, you'll be able to release the  
pressure. Soon...." She didn't know if Arisa heard her calming   
tones.... She was now beyond the point of registering anything but  
the pain she was feeling. Maria sighed and carried her across the  
loungeroom, into the corridor and along to the bathroom.  
  
She looked down at the towels and made her way along them,   
carefully stepping on each one to make sure she wasn't going to slip  
with such a precious cargo in her arms. When she arrived by the   
bath, she turned and lowered herself to her knees, trying to lower  
Arisa with similar care. Even before she managed to place Arisa in  
the bathtub, she could hear the tearing sound from the side of the  
girl's chest, a spray of blood striking the wall. After placing her  
within the tub, she turned Arisa over, then lifted her up and   
positioned several of the spare towels underneath her belly and   
forehead, keeping her from smothering herself in the process.  
  
And then Arisa's chest tore open. Flesh, forced out like a  
hatch, squelching and leaking blood of varying consistency....   
Light, fresh blood, caused by what would be, for a normal person,  
an unnatural tearing of the flesh, mixed with a darker, more viscous  
blood.... Devoid of the same oxygenation, the cells obviously dead  
or dying, this darker blood dribbled from the chest cavity like   
gruesome honey. All the while, Arisa heaved, as if breathing had   
suddenly become difficult, yet the colour in her flesh had started   
to return, her body suddenly relieved of a pressure that had built   
up over the space of more than an hour.  
  
Maria held her nose, turning away. The sudden exposure of   
Arisa's insides had released all the nauseating smells that commonly  
permeate the human body. She could barely contain the sense of   
horror at what was happening, and crawled on her hands and knees  
towards the doorway, even if it meant abandoning Arisa during her   
bleeding. She retched, and listened, and retched some more, holding  
onto the doorframe for support. And she waited, until Arisa's   
breathing settled.... She didn't know how long it was, five   
minutes.... maybe even ten minutes.... She wasn't sure. Nor did  
she care very much. All she felt was a sense of satisfaction when  
she heard the oozing sound of Arisa's chest cavity closing and   
sealing up. It still didn't make the smell in the room any better,  
though.  
  
She reached up the doorframe, feeling for the lightswitch,   
happy to find it was combined with the exhaust fan. After flicking  
that on, and waiting for the fan to work its way up to full speed,  
she heard Arisa starting to sob. Soft, pitiful sobs of frustration.  
Maria crawled over to the side of the bathtub once more, wincing at   
the sight that met her eyes. She reached into the tub and placed a  
hand on Arisa's shoulder, trying to comfort her. Arisa's face   
turned from where it had been resting, on the towel. Her face was  
now a near-bloodless pale, but her eyes were bloodshot and her   
cheeks tearstreaked. Her chin and throat were covered in the dark  
red, viscous mess that was still oozing its way down the plughole.  
Maria did her best to smile at Arisa, kindly, but it wasn't easy.  
"Are you ready to be cleaned yet?" She asked her softly. Arisa  
swallowed, the action seemingly difficult for her newly repositioned  
muscles.  
  
"I..." She croaked. "I think... that would be... for the   
best... Don't you?"  
  
----o  
  
Shimazaki stopped his Alfa 75 in front of Katarin's apartment  
and stared at the darkened house through the rain-spattered   
windows. He could see Katarin's car, sitting in the driveway.   
Obviously he had returned here, so it was more than possible that he  
was in the house. So why weren't any of the lights in the house on?  
Shimazaki bit his lower lip, wondering if his partner was trying to  
hide from him. But then, the car in the drive was a dead giveaway.  
So why...  
  
Almost unhesitatingly, he shut the car down, undid his   
seatbelt and opened the door, stepping out from the vehicle and   
slamming it shut behind him, not even bothering to lock it as he   
briskly made his way up to the front door.  
  
It was open. He kind of expected that. Stepping through the  
open door into the darkened front hallway was an eerie experience,  
despite it being dark outside, the dark within seemed so much   
heavier. He half expected to be jumped at any moment, but nobody  
did.  
  
He made his way through the loungeroom, into the kitchen. He  
knew the layout of Katarin's apartment like the back of his hand.   
He'd been over many times.... A beam of soft, white streetlight   
shone through the kitchen windows, illuminating the small table,   
covered in a mess of magazines and unwashed plates.  
  
"Go.... You in here? It's Shim-san." There was no reply,  
although he could hear a soft pattering sound, like water dripping  
on a rug or a carpet. He turned from the kitchen and stepped back  
into the lounge, following the noise. Sure enough, he found a small  
leak in the roof, and took a long breath.  
  
"Go? I know you're here. There isn't any point in hiding   
from me. I want to talk to you." He stepped from the lounge, back  
into the front hallway. The next door down was the bedroom, the   
door half-closed. He put a hand against the door and pressed it   
open, slowly.  
  
He switched on the light, peering around the room. Everything  
was in its place... The large, double bed, the wardrobe, the mirror  
and the bookshelves. For a moment, he wondered if Katarin was   
hiding in the bathroom or the toilet, when he heard the thumping   
sound coming from the wardrobe.  
  
"Oh, for pity's sake...." He shook his head and stepped over  
to the wardrobe, a large, darkly varnished wooden cupboard, roughly   
a foot taller than Shimazaki. He couldn't believe that Katarin   
would choose to hide from him in there. Confirming his suspicions,  
there was another thumping sound, lower down this time. Shimazaki  
shook his head and placed a hand on the left doorhandle, giving it a  
couple of tugs. It was locked. From the outside. Frowning, he   
looked around the room for the key, which was usually kept in the   
small keylock.  
  
He found it sitting on top of one of the bookshelves, and   
crossed the room to collect it, thinking how difficult it would be  
to lock oneself in one's own wardrobe and placing the key on the   
other side of the room. A realisation ran through him as he scooped  
up the key, and slowly turned back to the wardrobe.  
  
  
At it's base there was a tiny red stain. A liquid was oozing  
from the bottom crack of the door. With slow deliberation, he   
crossed the distance between the bookshelf and the wardrobe, placing  
the key in the left doorlock. He turned the key, feeling the latch  
give way with a satisfying click. Summoning up all of his energy,   
he placed his hand back on the doorhandle.  
  
He pulled the door open, stepping back as he did so.  
  
  
Katarin's dead body fell from the cupboard, pitching forward  
and splattering blood from the wound in his head across the carpet.  
  
Shimazaki made time to be sick on the other side of the room.  
  
  
END OF PART 30  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Next Chapter - "Dead Under the Bed"  
  
_________  
/ @ \ DDFA (The Right Dishonourable Mark A Page)  
/ / ^ ^ \ \ ayanami@internode.on.net  
/\  
\/ \/  
\___________/  
/_/ \_\ PU 


	31. SIU part 31: Dead Under the Bed

--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page)  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon and Silent Mobius are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Kia  
Asamiya, Michitaka Kikuchi, Bandai, Studio Tron, Kadokawa and   
Kodansya. All other characters were thought up by me.  
  
Warning - this chapter contains scenes that would be most correctly  
described as gruesome. Thusly, I rate this chapter as R.... You   
have been warned.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
"I love you, Dione.... I love you...."  
  
  
----o  
  
  
My name is Nakano Miyuki.  
  
And I am dead.  
  
  
I killed myself. Put my gun to my head and pulled the   
trigger. Moment of pain.... Then nothing. Well, that is how death  
is. You don't exist, anymore.... Get used to the idea.... It's   
coming to you, one day.  
  
Why did I kill myself? Because I was scared, and I don't like  
being scared. I don't like feeling at all.... Perhaps I'll tell   
you why....  
  
Perhaps not. My choice.  
  
----o  
  
Part Thirtyone  
Dead Under the Bed  
  
----o  
  
There isn't much that goes on in my head. That is not to say  
that I don't think very much, I just don't like thinking.... It   
leads to that aspect of myself that I most despise.... The aspect  
that tries to insert emotions into my mind.  
  
I hate emotions.... They're a nuisance. They get in the way  
of everything you do. Everything is so much simpler when you don't  
have to feel anything at all.... Especially if you've spent much of  
your younger years killing people, like I have.  
  
I think it all started when I first became aware.... Aware of  
myself as an individual entity.... It is really quite hard to   
define when this occurs. Of course, everyone knows they exist, but  
do they truly know they EXIST.... That they are as much a force of  
nature, a physical presence, to which everything around them must  
navigate in the hope of creating a safe passage.... It was probably  
when I was 6 years old that I first became aware of myself, in this  
capacity.  
  
Until that time, I existed in a kind of waking dream.... The  
kind of existence we all have at that stage.... We are very selfish  
creatures when we are young, but there is a point to which we are   
not conscious of our actions, and the consequences they have on   
other people. The first moment I became aware of my actions, of   
myself, and what I was capable of, was when I killed my mother and   
father.  
  
  
Sorry. You'll probably get upset at the thought of a six year  
old girl, killing her parents. Perhaps I could make everything   
better for you if I start off by mentioning all the nice, warm,   
happy moments we shared.... Comfort you as you pick away at my   
thoughts.... What few thoughts there are.... In my mind. It's so  
much easier to swallow than the nasty ones, despite the typically  
voyeuristic nature of human beings.  
  
  
No.... I've mentioned the fact, already.... Too late to   
insert any warm fuzzies, here.... Sensations of love and warmth   
that really don't exist. There was no emotional warmth radiating  
from either Mama or Papa.... Papa was a salaryman. He worked for a  
major corporation. He also had a drinking problem, was dying of   
liver and kidney damage, and had a bit on the side. He also had   
a debt to a Yakuza loan shark and helped pay for his debt by   
providing secret company financial documents to rival corporations.   
Mama was a housewife, and an abuser of barbiturates, who liked   
nothing more than tormenting young boys, sexually, starting with the   
neighbours and moving farther afield for victims. Shotacon out of  
control.  
  
And a fun time was had by all.  
  
  
Of course, it was my DUTY to society to rid them of their   
lives. So I cut Mama's throat whilst she lay, doped to the   
eyeballs, in bed.... Wasn't going to be much of a struggle,   
then....   
  
She did make funny little gurgling noises, afterwards....  
Death rattles, probably. Always know someone is on their way when  
you hear those.... Kinda amusing, that strange, rasping gurgle   
noise.... Seemed to go on forever.... At one point, as I   
contemplated the mess on my nightdress, I wondered if I should have  
used a sharper knife, rather than one of those serrated-edge   
ones.... But then, it was the only knife that Mama or Papa had ever  
let me use, for cutting bread and the like, so I was used to the  
back and forth motion needed to slice through her flesh.  
  
  
Hmm.... Now where was I? Oh yes, after that, I then placed a   
tripwire across the darkened main hallway of the house for Papa to   
fall over as he returned from another "meeting", drunk.  
  
Suffice to say, he didn't notice the string at all.... I   
would have thought that someone, even in a state of inebriation,   
would notice several coiled strands of household string crossing   
their path.... Obviously not. He went butt up and cracked his head  
on the floor. I hit it a couple more times with a baseball bat,   
just to make sure he was dead.... My nightdress really got kinda   
messy about then....   
  
And it was kinda smelly, too.... I didn't know the inside of   
a human body could smell so much, especially not the brain bit....   
Hmm.... The insides of the human body.... Maybe I had a   
fascination with what made people, for want of a better term, run,   
so I've spent much of my life deconstructing them to see.... There  
was that retired school teacher.... Oh, I'm sorry, I'm getting a  
bit carried away, here.... It's so hard not to reminisce about   
times like that....  
  
----o  
  
"I'm sorry, Iapetus.... I'm afraid I can't forgive you for  
what you've done.... To kill in such a manner, for reasons no   
better than to see what it would feel like.... It's a crime beyond  
perception.... Beyond humanity...."  
  
"Does it upset you?"  
  
"How could you be so calm about it all? That wasn't just some  
object you slaughtered.... It was a human being.... A living,   
breathing person."  
  
"I'm sorry, Queen.... I don't see the point."  
  
"WHAT? HOW COULD YOU NOT SEE THE POINT?"  
  
"Political criminal, attempting to escape custody. Had to   
die."  
  
"Is that the excuse you are using to justify your actions?"  
  
"Do I need any more?"  
  
"I cannot believe your attitude. Where is your SOUL?"  
  
"Ma'am?"  
  
"Your SOUL.... The thing that makes you human... You do know  
what a SOUL is, don't you?"  
  
"Don't see the point of your argument. Punish me, if you   
must. I must return."  
  
"TO WHERE?"  
  
"My post. Can't leave for long."  
  
"DAMN YOUR POST! I'M IN THE RIGHT MIND TO HAVE YOU....."  
  
"Banished?"  
  
"I should.... I really MUST..."  
  
"You won't."  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
"No point. Iapetus requires someone like me. Replacement the  
same. Cycle begins anew."  
  
----o  
  
So, having killed my mother and father, I took a bath and   
washed off the blood. I then went to the fridge, had a midnight   
snack and went to bed. Did I mention the fact that Papa's body   
smelt? I found it annoying after a couple of hours, so I had to   
spray him with air freshener.... It helped a little... but after a  
while, the smell, not only from Papa, but Mama as well, just got  
worse and worse and worse.... There were also phone calls from   
people, worried that they hadn't heard from them.... That Papa  
hadn't been to work, and such.... There were even a couple of calls  
from the Yakuza....  
  
Maybe I should have gone to school.... That was what gave it  
all away.... That and the fact that the food was starting to run   
out.... Oh, and the smell had moved from the house to the street  
outside, as had I.... Everyone was so nice to me when the   
neighbours took me in and phoned the police. It's times like that  
that make being a child worthwhile.... Nobody was willing to   
believe that a six year old girl could kill her parents, so the   
police rounded up the Yakuza and tried them for the murder, after I  
told everyone about the threatening calls.... They were convicted,   
too, which was kinda funny at the time.  
  
At least, I could see the humour in it all.... Everyone else  
was so dour and serious.... Like they were making a big thing of  
people dying.... People die every day. So what? The world doesn't  
suddenly end when someone ups and carks it.... Well, it does for   
the person in question, but that's to be expected.... EVERYBODY   
dies.  
  
It was when I realised this, that everybody and everything   
must die, including myself, that I first started having the   
dreams... Dreams of having lived, and died, before.  
  
......................  
  
I really don't know what to say about these dreams.... It's  
kinda hard to say.... I've spent much of my life forgetting the  
things I dream.... Of running away from faceless, pursuing enemies,  
of travelling through impossibly large and exotic cities, full of   
people doing strange things.... Of travelling landscapes and   
coastlines that defy description.... Architecture of bizarre form   
and shape, tv programs that never existed....   
  
My subconscious mind likes to make up for the lack of passion   
in my real life.... One of the reasons I've been doing my best to   
ignore my dreams.... They require too much energy from within to   
keep alive for very long.... I much prefer to retain that energy   
for my existence.  
  
But these dreams.... They frightened me.... On occasions, I  
would wake up, screaming, covered in sweat, and mightily embarrassed.  
It was like a huge, flashing neon sign that said "she's got problems  
in the head department", and I spent many a wasted hour, talking to  
a series of psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists and   
social workers about it, simply because it worried people. Didn't  
worry me. Much. Except when I thought about it.   
  
Then I would be struck with an awful coldness, and everything   
that had been solid and predictable would suddenly become ethereal  
and ephemeral.... And I knew it to be madness.  
  
I ran from it.... Carving into the population my profession as  
a killer.... I had to kill people.... It was the only thing that  
really satiated the static state into which I would fall at these  
moments.... The extreme drama of such an act.... It's so.... It's  
hard to describe.... Everything would suddenly come back into   
focus. Everything would suddenly become REAL again, and I would   
know, then, that I was REAL.  
  
----o  
  
"There is far too much blood on your hands, now, to turn back  
to what you once were.... Stay with me, for a while, and I can,   
perhaps, wash some of it off."  
  
"Feeling for me?"  
  
"Iapetus, I have always felt for you.... Even though the   
Queen and the other senshi feared and avoided you, I have always   
felt for you."  
  
"Dione.... When will we die?"  
  
"Who knows.... They left us behind.... It shows their   
typical contempt for us.... We were never a part of THEIR world....  
Even in death, they mock us."  
  
"Mock us...."  
  
"Yes.... From whatever afterlife they have found themselves,  
they stare upon us who are still within our mortal forms and laugh,  
for they feel it is the fate we justly deserve...."  
  
"Always mocked us."  
  
"Even the Queen despised us.... And the Prince and   
Princess... They all hated us for what we represented in their   
eyes... A dangerous, yet necessary, challenge to their thoughts and  
beliefs.... And we shall go on challenging those thoughts and   
beliefs for as long as we continue to live."  
  
"Left behind."  
  
"Don't try to think about it for too long.... They know it   
shall drive us mad.... To be left behind, rejected. We were the   
ones who succeeded in allowing Serenity to do what she did, and our  
reward is her eternal contempt."  
  
"Contempt."  
  
"They don't truly understand what love is.... Love is what we  
have.... What we have always had.... They merely saw it as an   
obsessive feeding of character traits between us...."  
  
"Obsessive love."  
  
"Emotional dependency.... Yes, you have emotions, underneath  
your dead exterior, they exist, otherwise why partake in what we   
have shared, all these years?"  
  
"Love. Perhaps."  
  
"There is still something we can make of our lives.... What  
remains of the human population must be guided.... We shall show   
them that we can make something of this world.... That we were,  
always, better than them in every way."  
  
"Better...."  
  
----o  
  
But then, there were always those who considered my profession  
to be essential.... That was why I ended up with the Shiranui   
Yakuza, one of the oldest families in the Tokyo area. I was   
admitted into their fold, albeit reluctantly, by their leader, when  
I was no older than 14.... because of a job I had done for them....  
Silencing a witness to the murder of a police informant. They   
didn't want him dead, of course, but that didn't mean killing was   
out of the question.... A simple vanishing would have sufficed, but  
I promised my boyfriend at the time that I'd bring back the guy's   
ear as a gift.  
  
Boyfriend, you ask? yeah, I had one, once.... He was the one  
who saw me through into the organisation.... Set me up a meeting   
with the old man of the family, Midan. Shiranui Midan is a bastard  
of the highest order.... likes to control people through a mixture   
of threat, emotion and psychology, and he's good at it, too.... I  
think what impressed him the most about me is that he has never been  
able to work me out.... That's why he appointed me his daughter's  
guardian. She needed one. Was as old as me, and the complete   
opposite in personality....  
  
Kimi's mouth works at ten to the dozen, but most of what comes  
out is spoken in a kind of code.... She never says anything   
straight out.... What she really thinks and feels is a complete   
mystery to many people, and she, too, perplexed her father.... Not  
half as much as I do, but all the same.... She was an   
uncontrollable girl, used to getting her own way. Naturally, I was  
going to fall in love with her....  
  
Yeah yeah yeah.... My boyfriend wasn't too pleased. But   
then, he was just there for the occasional moment of amusement....   
I was genuinely attracted to Kimi.... And Kimi reciprocated these   
feelings, especially as I became better and better at reading her  
thoughts, actions and words. Kimi likes to be the centre of   
attention.... She was a born actress, dressing up in all kinds of  
costumes and such, and putting on little performances for people....  
Much like her mother did.... Many people considered her mother to  
be the true power behind the Shiranui Yakuza. At least, she was in  
an operational sense.... She ran the brothels, drug imports and   
production and the grafting side of the business, Midan was the  
businessman's face. Both Kimi and I knew better, and we knew that,  
one day, Midan would cut all strings to his wife's redemption.  
  
  
The day it happened was the day Kimi and I pledged eternal  
allegiance to each other. Kimi had become tired of my ex-  
boyfriend's attempts to get me back. So, reeling after the   
revelation of her mother's suicide, she had him drugged and bound  
in her bedroom, and we ritually slaughtered him, then and there....  
Our emotional co-dependence was sealed with his blood, which we  
collected in little vials and placed in the meals of everyone in  
the household that night, without their knowing. And with the   
ingestion of that blood, we vowed that, one day, we would both   
inherit control of the Shiranui Yakuza family.  
  
  
Course, there was another reason Midan appointed me as his   
daughter's guardian.... For the very reason he was unable to work  
me out, he didn't like to think that there was such a person in this  
world, one that was beyond his tricks and controls.... So he wanted  
me close, where he could watch me, and use me for what I'm best at.  
I've had to enforce his law more than once.... Usually nothing more  
than wandering members of the family, and the occasional civilian...  
Oh, and there were those politicians. And those seven uniforms....  
They HAD to go.... And that shopkeeper.... And those twenty   
members of the Aum Shin Rikyo cult that refused to pay the rent at  
one of his properties.... Come to think of it, there have been a  
hell of a lot of occasions when I've had to enforce his law....   
Maybe he really DOES have me worked out, after all.... Or maybe he  
thinks my public face is all that there is to me.... He'll be in   
for something of a surprise if he continues to think along those   
lines.  
  
----o  
  
"Dione. Where are you? I don't want to be left alone like   
this.... Alone.... Please.... Answer me.... Where are you, now?  
Why did you have to leave me?"  
  
Time.  
  
"I'm not good, alone.... I wander, in mind, spirit and body,  
when I'm alone.... I can't run this world, all by myself.... I   
don't have it within me.... You are my voice, I am your action....  
What is the point of action without words?"  
  
Dark.  
  
"I'm not good at saying what I really think.... You know   
that. Now that you're not here, I can say everything, out loud....  
But whenever we were face to face.... It was beyond me. At least,  
I never needed to talk, when you were around.... You always knew  
what I was thinking, what I was feeling, on some instinctive   
level...."  
  
Silence.  
  
"Please, don't tell me you're gone, forever.... I can't bear  
to think what life would be like, without you.... I have to.... I  
have to have YOU beside me.... I need it.... Please, show yourself  
to me, on this dark night...."  
  
Emptiness.  
  
"If tears are not enough to get you to return to me, what   
will? Must I, too, face the agony of death for us to be reunited?  
Nothing has gone the way it should have.... Is this part of THEIR  
plan, to mock us from the other side of death..... It is almost too  
much to contemplate, that this is what THEY arranged for us upon the  
moment of their own passing.... the conflagration that ended   
all..."  
  
Death.  
  
"Will there be no happy ending for us? Are we so unworthy of  
the gift of love? Are we just monsters, sent to wash others' hands   
of the dirtier, immoral choices? What is the point of love at all   
if, in the end, that is all it means...."  
  
Forever.  
  
"I love you, Dione.... I love you...."  
  
----o  
  
I love her.... Shiranui Kimi.... But it's all going wrong...  
We had plans.... Plans to destroy those who had brought about her   
mother's death.... Those freaks of nature, the Sailorsenshi....   
Magic? I can't believe in magic.... It's just illogical.... How   
can such a thing exist in this world? Even moreso, magic that is   
the ultimate, binding force of love.... There is only one kind of  
love I understand.... The bond that has formed between Kimi and  
myself the few short years we have known each other.... The love   
that the Sailorsenshi share is one we shall never know, never be a  
part of, for it cannot encompass two whose pasts have been such as  
ours.... I am.... Where was I?  
  
  
No.... Where am I? Where am I, now? I was in a hospital....  
But I can't be.... I'm SUPPOSED to be dead.... Is this what lies  
beyond death, for one such as I? Wandering as some kind of spirit,  
throughout the streets of Tokyo, alone, forever.... That would mean  
Kimi is now alone.... Loneliness for Kimi would be worse than a  
sentence of death.... She needs me.... She wouldn't be able to   
live without me.... Why did I have to kill myself? I know why I  
tried.... It was because of HER. It was because of SATURN.  
  
She was prying into my mind, bringing forth the dreams that I  
have tried to suppress all this time.... Dreams I had only shared  
with Kimi.... For Kimi, too, had had such dreams, of a similar   
place and world, and she reciprocated the honour of allowing me into  
this private facet of her mind.... To tear these dreams from deep  
within my soul.... I can think of no better example of my soul   
being raped....  
  
----o  
  
"I cannot believe your attitude. Where is your SOUL?"  
  
"Ma'am?"  
  
"Your SOUL.... The thing that makes you human... You do know  
what a SOUL is, don't you?"  
  
----o  
  
Saturn knows me better than any other being on the planet....   
In the UNIVERSE. She didn't need to do that to me.... She didn't   
need to bring up my private fantasies and thoughts.... Tear them   
out of me.... She already KNEW what they were, because she has   
always been a part of them.... And the fact that I could see the  
recognition, in her own mind, frightened me like I have never been  
frightened before, in my life.... I cannot be a part of the love  
that surrounds the Sailorsenshi, yet she tells me I am.... I don't  
WANT to be part of that. I don't belong there. But she tells me I  
must. And so must Kimi.... For if the future is to ever come to  
pass, as it should, we MUST be a part of it, regardless of who and  
what we are.  
  
And I ran away by killing myself. What would Kimi do? I well  
know what she would do.... Exactly the same thing.... But Saturn  
doesn't have the power to give her a second chance like she did me.  
And if Kimi dies....  
  
----o  
  
"Dione. Where are you? I don't want to be left alone like   
this.... Alone.... Please.... Answer me.... Where are you, now?  
Why did you have to leave me?"  
  
----o  
  
The streets of Tokyo are cold and wet.... Where am I? How   
did I get here? From the hospital.... How did I just appear here?   
What did Saturn do to me? What power is it that she has over me?  
  
I have walked many streets, I have seen many things.... Long  
periods of time have passed between the two moments where I have   
been alive.... Two different Kando Miyukis.... I am but one   
version of her, and yet I am not so distinct from what I was, then.  
I am patently insane, for no normal human being does, has done, the  
things I have.  
  
What am I to do? What was I brought back for?  
  
----o  
  
"What did you do to me? How did you stop my death? My   
dying? How did I get here? This hospital.... I feel... I can   
feel Kimi.... I can feel her, alone, in the darkness.... Where is   
she? Where has she gone? What is her destiny?"   
  
"Dione.... is searching... for her... longtime friend. Are...  
you going... to allow her... to meet the... destiny you foresee?   
Understand... Iapetus... Understand why... I saved you..."  
  
----o  
  
Somewhere, on the streets of Tokyo, Kimi is alone, and afraid.  
Afraid for me, and for herself.... I too, am afraid, and I don't   
like the feeling. And I very well know why I am afraid.... I don't  
want to feel as alone, with someone as unpleasant as myself, as I   
was in the final years of my previous life. Alone, without the one  
person who actually meant something to me.  
  
And I shall not let her die again.... To leave me alone,   
again, in the throes of madness....  
  
For there has never been anyone else but Kimi, not even   
myself, that I have learnt to love. Does there really need to be  
another reason?  
  
Didn't think so.  
  
Well, that's my excuse for living. What's yours?  
  
----o  
  
  
"I love you, Dione.... I love you...."  
  
  
END OF PART 31  
  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
As unpleasant as some characters can be, they can also be   
pathetically tragic.... Obsessive, emotionally dependent love is  
as devoid of reason as some madnesses.  
  
----o  
  
Next Chapter - "Conjoining Truths and Untruths"  
  
Preview....  
  
  
She had landed on the tiled surrounds of a large swimming   
pool.... Even larger than the public pool she had often gone to in  
her younger days. The pool was set in a large, covered hall, but   
alas, there were no windows so she could get a bearing on her   
surrounds.  
  
The hall was lit by a simple exit sign above a door at the   
other end, giving it a fairly ghostly atmosphere. The only relief  
was the gentle buzz of the pool filter in the background.  
  
Usagi got to her feet, rubbing her tailbone and performing a  
little dance as she tried to recover movement against the pain she  
felt. She stopped when she realised she was alone.  
  
"S... Setsuna-san? Pluto, where are you?" Her voice,   
regardless of its deliberate softness, echoed around the hall,   
coming back to her as a confirmation that she was, indeed, sans   
Setsuna. She shivered for a second. "C... Cthulu-san? Are you   
there?"  
  
"Blurkle snorkle...." Came the bubbling reply from the bottom  
of the pool.  
  
----o  
  
_________  
/ @ \ DDFA (The Right Dishonourable Mark A Page)  
/ / ^ ^ \ \ ayanami@internode.on.net  
/\  
\/ \/  
\___________/  
/_/ \_\ PU  
  
  
Version 1.1 - Tuesday September 29th 1998 


	32. SIU part 32: Conjoining Truths and Untru...

--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page)  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon and Silent Mobius are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Kia  
Asamiya, Michitaka Kikuchi, Bandai, Studio Tron, Kadokawa and   
Kodansya. All other characters were thought up by me.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
"....And just where do you think she has gone?" Midan   
whispered as he lounged back against the sofa, staring at the   
ceiling.  
  
"It is possible that she has made for the Hikawa Shrine, where  
Nakano was sent, to kill Mars.... We have not heard from her,   
although, one must admit, that's not necessarily surprising.... She  
is a normal girl, in the truest sense of the word, regardless of   
your opinion of her. Against Mars, a gun might not nearly be   
enough." The aquamarine-haired woman's soft, almost silky tone   
belied her disgust of the man she was talking to. Midan was no   
fool. He had not survived this long without learning the technique   
of reading into the way people spoke to him.  
  
He turned to the woman and smiled. "You place a lot of faith  
in your one-time comrades." He chuckled as she shifted with   
irritation. Michiru hated the formality that Midan demanded, and   
was uncomfortable kneeling on the hard floor of his private den. He  
sipped the claret from the glass he was holding, allowing the   
dryness it the hard and unforgiving red wine to roll around in his   
mouth before allowing it to flow into his throat. For all the  
intrinsic foreign-ness of the beverage, foreign things being   
anathema to his state of mind, he found something in claret that was  
almost.... sympathetic. It resembled him, in many ways, and he   
liked the synergy that created. "I seem to remember your telling me  
that she would be far too scared to stand against even the simplest  
of killers we sent to deal with her." He studied the wine as he   
addressed Michiru.  
  
"I also seem to remember telling you that that was not   
necessarily a good sign.... I'm not the world's best reader of   
minds. Mars might react in a very explosive manner, no pun   
intended, to the perceived threat."  
  
"Yet you were more than able to deal with Jupiter, were you   
not?" Midan shook his head. "Jupiter was, very much, a greater   
threat to you than Mars, was she not? Her powers, given the free  
reign of one not quite in their right mind, letting fly in the   
middle of the city...." He sat up, suddenly, turning to Michiru   
with sharp eyes. "She should have been able to polish the city with  
your remains. Yet she fell to you within minutes. Perhaps you'd   
like to explain why....?"  
  
"I... cannot say.... Her state of mind was... chaotic. She  
was, as much, fighting herself as she was us. That virtually halved  
her abilities and concentration. We took advantage of that."  
  
"And delivered her into the hands of my loving daughter."   
Midan swirled the wine around the glass, considering it for a few   
moments. "My loving daughter. It is a pity about her, don't you   
think?" He stood and started to pace the room. "As weak a link in  
the organisation as her mother was." He rubbed his eyes. "Of   
course, it matters little to you. You have only infiltrated my   
family in the hopes of destroying it."  
  
"That my partner and I have never denied." Michiru watched   
him, warily. "Everything we have done has been to bring you down,   
to destroy you...."  
  
"Even at the cost of your comrades."  
  
"Yes." Michiru said simply. "Our role has never really been  
to protect... To protect our honored one.... But to protect the   
Kingdom. I know that may sound strange to you.... A Kingdom   
without a monarch...."  
  
Midan laughed. "It really doesn't matter very much to me.   
Nor should it. THIS is my kingdom.... It might not be the kind of  
Kingdom you fight for, but it is a Kingdom, all the same. I have  
the power I want. I don't need any more. What makes you think   
anyone deserves more than what I have?"  
  
"It's not the power you wield, but what you do with that   
power." Michiru sniffed. "You have already killed your wife with  
that power. I now feel that you intend to do the same with your   
daughter."  
  
"You know she wishes to usurp me. She and that bitch she   
loves. That gutter trash slut, Nakano...." He pointed at Michiru.  
"Women who love other women disgust me, be they my blood or   
otherwise. That is something you have taught me in your time here."  
And, waving his hand at her, he collapsed back onto the sofa.   
"Begone, trash. Deal with my daughter as you see fit. Kill her   
with impunity. If she leaves the comfort of the home I have given  
her for someone who is as worthless as Nakano, then I do not want   
her in my house."  
  
  
If looks could kill, Michiru's gaze would have evaporated   
Midan, then and there.  
  
----o  
  
Part Thirtytwo  
Conjoining Truths and Untruths  
  
----o  
  
Miki was silent for several moments, mulling over her   
thoughts. "What is the purpose of bringing me here? How did I come  
to be here, anyway?"  
  
"You're not actually here. I merely looked through your   
memories, and found this featuring rather largely amongst them."  
  
Miki turned to Makoto. "Where am I, then?"  
  
"In a hospital. The doctors are trying to revive you after  
my old Heart Crystal inserted itself into you."  
  
"Your Heart whatsit did WHAT?" Miki stared at Makoto, open-  
mouthed. Makoto sighed, stepping around the policewoman with her   
arms folded behind her head.  
  
"My Heart Crystal.... What used to be MY Heart Crystal, fused  
with yours. For whatever reason, it would appear that your body was  
the most compatible.... On a basic, genetic level.... Don't ask me  
to explain it, I don't really understand it, myself, lest I begin a  
long lecture on the spiritual power schematics of the Heart Crystal,   
the Dream Mirror and the Star Seed...."  
  
Miki's eyes were spinning. "The what and the what? I take it  
that you mean the crystal they removed from your chest, when you   
talk about the Heart thingummy.... But what the hell are those   
other things? Just how many little dooflickies are in us that are  
necessary to make us run?"  
  
"Dunno.... There seemed to be a new one every time an enemy  
turned up.... Don't know what they expected to do with them all....  
Had mine ripped out a couple of times.... Guess that they weren't   
all important, otherwise you would have had them shoved into you, as  
well...."  
  
"Is that legal?" Miki put a hand to her chest. "It sounds   
slightly obscene...." Makoto facefaulted.  
  
"Don't ask me.... I wasn't in control of the thing when it  
decided to slip inside something more comfortable...."  
  
"It SOUNDS obscene when you put it that way." Miki swallowed.  
"Are you Sailorsenshi perverts, or something?"  
  
----o  
  
Ikuko watched as her husband put down the receiver of the   
phone and sigh. "They don't have any idea where she might be,   
either....." He muttered, softly. "And there is STILL no reply   
from the shrine or the Mizuno household...."  
  
Ikuko's face fell into her hands as she lowered herself into  
a loungechair. "Something terrible must have happened to her.....  
She's NEVER been out this late, before." Kenji turned to his wife  
with a mixture of sympathy and annoyance.  
  
"Yes she has.... Remember the time...."  
  
"We KNEW where she was, that time.... You heard what her  
lecturer said.... She didn't turn up for her classes today. Usagi  
might have been many things in her younger days, but she has ALWAYS  
attended her lectures, unless she had a good reason not to."  
  
Kenji sighed again and stepped away from the phone, placing   
his hands on Ikuko's shoulders. "I know how you feel, Ikuko-  
chan.... Usagi is.... Usagi is my little girl. I would do   
anything to protect her. But there comes a stage in one's life when  
you have to learn to trust your own children. A stage where you   
feel they are more than capable of looking after themselves...." He  
lifted Ikuko's face with a gentle finger under her chin. She stared  
at him with eyes filled with tears, meeting the soft, reassuring   
smile that had been his trademark since they'd met in Junior High.   
"We KNOW, better than anyone else, perhaps, outside her personal   
circle of friends, what she is capable of."  
  
"But with the death of...." Ikuko began to say, silenced as   
Kenji placed a gentle finger across her lips.  
  
"Her.... passing was.... perhaps, a blessing in disguise. She  
had passed the point of no return, a state of self-destruction....   
Even though what had happened to her was terrible.... Nobody should  
die that way, she had opened herself up to the scrutiny of others,   
and paid the price." He stood back and stared into space. "Long   
ago, when she was a child, we knew that her true identity should   
remain a secret, lest those with other plans use or destroy her....  
We were CHOSEN, Ikuko. Chosen to bring up the Messiah, no matter   
our feelings, now that she has reached adulthood, I grieve for those  
who dare to cross her path...."  
  
  
Ikuko swallowed, shaking her head. "But still, don't you   
think it may be worthwhile to call the police?"  
  
Kenji facefaulted.  
  
----o  
  
"I take it the death warrant has been signed?" Haruka stared  
out at the lights of the courtyard, outside of the southern wing of  
the Shiranui house. Michiru had entered as quietly as possible, but  
the duology that existed between them was too strong for her to hide  
her presence.  
  
"He most certainly won't win the father of the year award."   
She folded her arms across her front, clasping her hands together.  
  
Haruka didn't turn from her musings. "I almost sympathise   
with her.... If he had been my old man, I'd have killed him a long  
time ago."  
  
"So what stopped you from killing the tyrant you grew up   
with?" Michiru slowly paced across the floor of the darkened room,  
towards the outer door against which Haruka was leaning.  
  
"There are many different private hells we must endure.... I  
had to endure one that could only be described as lesser when   
compared to that which Shiranui Kimi has faced." Haruka shoved a   
hand into her jacket. "Even though she is a twisted child, she   
doesn't deserve to die."  
  
"You're too forgiving." Michiru leaned against Haruka. "She  
is the one who had us kill Ju...."  
  
"Hush...." Haruka turned, placing a hand across Michiru's   
mouth. "Remember, it was not we who pulled the trigger." Michiru  
sighed, moving aside Haruka's hand.  
  
"Is that supposed to absolve us of the guilt. We were the   
ones who captured her. We might not have actually committed the   
act, but we are guilty by association." Michiru stepped forward,   
staring into the lights. "Even though what we did was, ultimately,  
right.... We shall not be forgiven by the person who matters most."  
  
"Then we must die." Haruka shrugged. "From the start, we   
knew that that would, probably, be the way it would end for us."   
She paused. "Perhaps the only way to control the monster that rages  
within our bodies...."  
  
"Death." Michiru allowed the word to float in the air. "Such  
a horrible truth to face. But eternity stretches before me, and I   
find that a more frightening concept. Perhaps this is for the best.  
For us, and for Shiranui Kimi."  
  
----o  
  
"Look...." Makoto sighed. "I didn't get to choose where my  
Heart Crystal went.... It made that decision, all by itself. And  
believe me, being in such close company to a rampant moron, such as  
yourself, gives me no pleasure whatsoever." Makoto stepped over to  
the nearest monument and kicked it. The cement tablet exploded into  
dust, confirming the fact that none of what they were experiencing  
was real.  
  
"What did you call me?" Miki clenched a fist. "I'll have you  
know that I am a University graduate."  
  
"Thus confirming my suspicion that you are a moron." Makoto  
chuckled. "Honestly.... I don't know WHY I'm talking to you....   
I'll let you find out the way I died, all by yourself."  
  
"I'd rather not, thankyou very much." Miki leant against her  
father's monument. "I'd rather wake up from this dream and return   
to the world of the living, if you don't mind?"  
  
"Oh, you would, would you?" Makoto sneered at Miki. "What if  
I didn't give you a choice, eh? Do you know how painful it was, to  
die in the manner I died?" She advanced on the shorter policewoman.  
"The disorientation and the sheer, unadulterated terror.... Of both  
KNOWING you are going to die, and the people who are killing you....  
That is a pain you could never understand." Makoto threw her arms  
wide, bitterness showing in every line of her face. "I trusted   
those people.... I thought they'd be there if anything happened to  
me, to help me out when things got tough.... But they turned out to  
be my greatest enemies of all.... They didn't want to know about my  
problems.... Instead, they chose to put me to death...." Tears   
started to run from the corners of her eyes. "I asked for help,   
more times than you could imagine.... Things were happening to me  
that I couldn't understand, and I tried to suppress it. The   
emotions, the fearful visions.... I did everything to make them go  
away.... I withdrew myself from people.... I even started taking  
things to numb the sensations.... Greater and greater quantities,   
until my body's immune system had just about collapsed under the   
strain, and still, the monster inside wanted MORE."  
  
----o  
  
"Unit Three to Control Central.... Confirmation that the   
Security System is down. Over."  
  
"Control Central to Unit Three, what is the status of the   
ground troops? Over."  
  
"Ground troops are minimal.... It's total chaos in there,   
sir. Over."  
  
"Control Central to Unit Three, begin your move into the   
grounds.... Eliminate all within your allotted sector. Over."  
  
----o  
  
A dimness had entered the eyes of Gigelf Liqueur.... Not the  
dimness of age, for that was yet to come.... But a dimness brought  
upon by those eyes seeing more than their owner had wanted to   
see.... Horrors, not even possible to imagine.... Deeds, committed  
in the name of belief.... As the Grand Mage of the Coven of   
Atrocity, Gigelf Liqueur had long learned that there was no such   
thing as right and wrong choices in life.... Merely varying, and   
sometimes frightening, shades of gray.  
  
Choices. They seem so simple, yet, can have terrifying   
consequences. When the High Council of the Coven had met, so many  
years ago, in an emergency meeting to decide the actions that should  
be taken, upon facing a second potential group of rivals in the form  
of the Sailorsenshi, he had voted with the rest to have them   
eliminated.... It seemed like such an easy choice to make, for they   
were an enemy whose bias in the affairs of the Coven could not be   
predicted.  
  
  
No matter, it still came as a shock when the news arrived upon  
the death of the first of those senshi.... A young woman, perhaps  
younger than he. As he stood before the ceremonial altar in the   
Grand Hall, the thought of the young woman's terrifying last moments  
weighed heavily upon him....   
  
For it had been several years since he had made that decision,   
and he no longer felt as sure about what it was the Coven stood for.   
Did freedom for his kind, from all forms of oppression, really   
justify the killing of someone who was, at the time of her death, no   
longer capable of being a threat....  
  
  
Political manipulation had seen the foundation of the SIU, as  
a cover for the Coven's activities. It had failed to uncover very   
much, other than a great deal of information about what the   
Sailorsenshi could do.... That was not what the Coven wanted. They  
required identities.... And the Sailorsenshi had been very good at  
concealing those.... So it came as a gift from Heaven, when the   
senshi made their first big error....  
  
In attempting to bring down a particularly heinous Yakuza   
family, the Shiranui, they had made connections, and exposed   
themselves to the scrutiny of the paranoid criminal scene.... It  
wasn't long before elements within the Diet, the Japanese   
parliament, had made deals with Shiranui Midan.... The Coven wasn't  
the only group concerned about the activities of this new, and   
potentially powerful, group of rivals.   
  
Power meant financial security. The insider information that  
the Diet had at their fingertips was a surefire ticket to financial  
salvation. Even those who had fallen in the various scandals that  
had wracked the Diet for years continued to benefit by what they   
knew.... The desire to protect that regime was immensely powerful.  
  
When a threat to that power came to pass, they would eliminate  
it, not through the organ of war, but through financial takeover.   
The reason the Coven had survived this long was due to the capital  
that had been invested in it by business and members of parliament.  
Some of them even began to believe in what the Coven stood for, but  
they were few. Financial input was not an automatic rubber-stamping  
of ideology.  
  
However, the Sailorsenshi proved to be something new and   
unusual for the Japanese powermongers. They liked to remain hidden  
from the scrutiny of the outside world, and were, therefore, a   
threat that couldn't be controlled in the traditional sense. So   
they resorted to not thinking things through, and going for the   
throat. For the doddering old fools that ran the nation of Japan,  
imagination was something that had, already, been stretched paper   
thin.  
  
  
"Master...." Gigelf turned as the crisp tones of Lysithea   
Caprice echoed through the Grand Hall, disturbing his train of   
thought. He stepped back from the altar, pushing aside his   
voluminous ceremonial robes. He looked down from the dais at his  
light-haired servant, standing in the middle of the dark and empty  
hall, holding the unconscious form of Carey West. He shivered at  
what her presence meant.  
  
"I see you were.... successful..." He took a breath and   
started to make his way down from the dais, via a small steps, set   
to one side. Lysithea watched him, smiling.  
  
"It took... some time.... The distraction... you set up...   
worked. But I'm afraid Nobuhiro and Michelle have been captured in   
the process...." He paused. "As for Pagan.... I'm not sure."  
  
"They shall be subjected to the psychological manipulation of  
the House...." Gigelf sighed. sadly. "It is a pity to waste the   
talents of three such as they. But our plans cannot be stopped...."   
It was a pity to waste the life of one like Carey West, too, he   
thought to himself. Another body to add to his growing   
collection....  
  
  
It was amazing, how easy it had been to convince Shiranui   
Midan, to allow the Sailorsenshi access to his organisation.   
Manakuto, the Dietman who had come closest to entering into the   
trust of the Coven's High Council, was a master diplomat, with   
protection for Midan, even at the cost of his wife and daughter,   
being arranged.   
  
Allow the Sailorsenshi to complete the task which they had   
begun.... Then ensnare them within the organisation, enough to give   
someone reason to want to kill them.... That way, the finger of   
blame would not point at the Coven, the Diet or even the Shiranui   
Yakuza.... It would be.... just one of those things....  
  
It worked, but in a messier way than had been forseen.... For  
several members of the Sailorsenshi had seen through the plan, and  
had aligned themselves with the Shiranui.... Not as part of the   
plan to bring the Shiranui down, but true alignment, for what it was   
worth.... Midan never trusted them, but that was only to be   
expected. Nobody trusted Midan. Everything evens itself out, in   
the end.  
  
They proved their worth by offering to help Midan's daughter,   
Kimi, in killing their one-time comrades.... Or, at the very   
least, one of them. It made Gigelf sick to the stomach to think   
that the petty internal politics and powerplays that existed within   
the Coven, also existed within a group that had traditionally fought   
to preserve what was, essentially, good, and right, and pure.... If   
such concepts were really, truly workable.  
  
  
As he stepped away from the dais, he took a breath and clapped   
his hands together. "Did you manage to throw their security system   
into chaos in the process of taking West?" At this question,   
Lysithea began a long, soft chuckle. Gigelf found the sound rather  
displeasing. "What is so funny?"  
  
Lysithea shook his head, smiling, and gently lowered Carey to  
the cold stone floor. After considering Carey's face for a few   
seconds, he stood, facing Gigelf, clasping his hands in front of him  
in an effeminate manner. "You should have seen it.... So simple,   
so easy.... As soon as I removed her from the grounds, the alarms  
went into full panic mode.... There were people, running everywhere  
across the grounds.... And I managed to leave Sailormoon and   
Sailorpluto in the middle of that Chaos.... It was just   
marvelous..."  
  
"They relied too much on West...." Gigelf swallowed. "You   
know, of course, of our plans to deal with the House, as soon as she  
was removed...."  
  
Lysithea nodded. "Of course, master.... There could be no   
better time...."  
  
No better time, thought Gigelf.... No better time to forever  
go down in history as a butcher of one's own kind. A butcher or a  
savior.... Depending on who lives to write the history books....  
  
----o  
  
"MORE AND MORE..... IT ATE AWAY AT MY SYSTEM.... A CREATURE  
THAT I KNEW TO BE MYSELF, AND YET I TRIED TO DENY IT.... THAT WAS  
WORTHLESS, TOTALLY WORTHLESS!" Makoto slammed her hands onto the  
monument, either side of Miki's head. Her eyes were red and puffy,  
tears running down her cheeks, and her bottom lip was curled up as  
if she were about to explode into either rage or a fit of bawling.  
It frightened Miki too much to want to comfort her.  
  
"Wh.... What was it?" She managed to croak.  
  
"WHAT WAS WHAT?" Makoto bellowed, staring the young woman   
down. Miki ducked underneath Makoto's arm and stepped away, turning  
to face her. Makoto didn't move.  
  
"The monster, what was it? What was it that was eating away   
at you?" Miki wasn't sure if Makoto was about to collapse or lash   
out at her. She took a couple of steps further back, just in case.  
She wasn't going to escape the dead Sailorsenshi, locked together in  
the same mind and body, she reasoned, so there was no point trying   
to run away in a world that had been constructed by the person she  
was trying to run away from.... Better to try and talk it out.  
  
"The monster?" Makoto asked, softly.  
  
"Yes.... What was the monster that forced you to dope   
yourself to the eyeballs to suppress?"  
  
"The monster.... The monster was...." Makoto lifted her   
hands from the monument and turned to Miki, a strange smile on her  
face. "The monster was ME."  
  
----o  
  
The train conductor had seen many sights in the years he'd   
been working the Tokyo suburban lines. The girl, dressed in the  
thick kimono, wet and bedraggled, had to be one of the more   
interesting ones, if only because she was so attractive. Probably  
BECAUSE she was so attractive, she was garnering the attentions of  
one of the line's better known salaryman perverts.  
  
The girl seemed rather distracted, at first.... An air of  
desperation on her face. It didn't occur to him to actually check   
if she had actually bought a ticket.... Of course, you're not   
supposed to be able to get onto the platform of most stations   
without having bought one, first, but the girl looked as if she'd  
just run onto the train, straight out of the pouring rain.  
  
Whatever the reason for her desperation, it was enough for her  
not to register Amaki's presence before the creep was leaning up   
against her, giggling inanely. The girl looked up at him, slowly,  
only just barely registering his intentions. The conductor thought  
it was time to intervene, as he had done on all the previous   
occasions Amaki had tried it on with unfortunate female passengers  
who would board his train, to and from work.  
  
It all happened in a matter of seconds. Amaki had placed both  
of his arms around the girl and tried to lick her ear, when his arms  
fell onto the floor in a spray of blood. The girl was standing back  
from him, holding a pair of bloodied fans, a vicious expression on  
her face. It was a couple of seconds before both Amaki and the   
conductor realised that the unfortunate pervert no longer had any   
arms.  
  
Before Amaki could scream out in pain and terror, the girl had  
taken his head clean off, watching with satisfaction as it bounced   
off the seat and rolled onto the floor. Amaki's body continued to   
stand for a few seconds more, fountaining blood from the stump of a  
neck, before it fell like a puppet whose strings had been cut. With  
a flourish, the girl slapped the fans shut and whipped them back   
into the sleeves of her kimono. She then looked up at the conductor  
and smiled, leaving him in no doubt as to what he SHOULDN'T do at   
that point.  
  
She picked up Amaki's briefcase, still standing against the   
seat where he had left it, and handed it to the conductor. "So   
terribly sorry to have messed up your train, but I'm in a bit of a   
hurry, and I truly cannot abide by perverts. What about you?" She  
stared at the man, smiling sweetly as he failed to answer, not   
really knowing how to answer in such a situation. "Ah, yes, I see  
you're not one used to such violent behaviour. I apologise if I've  
upset you, or anything. It was my upbringing, you see...." She   
giggled and turned her head to the windows as she saw the approach  
of a station. "Ah, this looks like my stop." She turned back to  
the conductor and bowed, slightly. "Konbanwa."  
  
"K... konbanwa." The conductor replied as the train came to  
a halt at the station. The girl trotted over to the door and waited  
as they opened up to the platform. She then alighted and   
disappeared into the night.  
  
Yes, the conductor had seen many things in his years of   
service. This one was going to make, at the very least, an entire  
chapter, if he ever got round to writing up his memoirs.  
  
  
END OF PART 32  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Next Chapter - "Purity of Blood"  
  
_________  
/ @ \ DDFA (The Right Dishonourable Mark A Page)  
/ / ^ ^ \ \ ayanami@internode.on.net  
/\  
\/ \/  
\___________/  
/_/ \_\ PU  
  
Version 2.0 - Tuesday October 27th 1998 


	33. SIU part 33: Purity of Blood

--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page)  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon and Silent Mobius are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Kia  
Asamiya, Michitaka Kikuchi, Bandai, Studio Tron, Kadokawa and   
Kodansya. All other characters were thought up by me.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
It all happened in a matter of seconds. Amaki had placed both  
of his arms around the girl and tried to lick her ear, when his arms  
fell onto the floor in a spray of blood. The girl was standing back  
from him, holding a pair of bloodied fans, a vicious expression on  
her face. It was a couple of seconds before both Amaki and the   
conductor realised that the unfortunate pervert no longer had any   
arms.  
  
Before Amaki could scream out in pain and terror, the girl had  
taken his head clean off, watching with satisfaction as it bounced   
off the seat and rolled onto the floor. Amaki's body continued to   
stand for a few seconds more, fountaining blood from the stump of a  
neck, before it fell like a puppet whose strings had been cut. With  
a flourish, the girl slapped the fans shut and whipped them back   
into the sleeves of her kimono. She then looked up at the conductor  
and smiled, leaving him in no doubt as to what he SHOULDN'T do at   
that point.  
  
She picked up Amaki's briefcase, still standing against the   
seat where he had left it, and handed it to the conductor. "So   
terribly sorry to have messed up your train, but I'm in a bit of a   
hurry, and I truly cannot abide by perverts. What about you?" She  
stared at the man, smiling sweetly as he failed to answer, not   
really knowing how to answer in such a situation. "Ah, yes, I see  
you're not one used to such violent behaviour. I apologise if I've  
upset you, or anything. It was my upbringing, you see...." She   
giggled and turned her head to the windows as she saw the approach  
of a station. "Ah, this looks like my stop." She turned back to  
the conductor and bowed, slightly. "Konbanwa."  
  
"K... konbanwa." The conductor replied as the train came to  
a halt at the station. The girl trotted over to the door and waited  
as they opened up to the platform. She then alighted and   
disappeared into the night.  
  
yes, the conductor had seen many things in his years of   
service. This one was going to make, at the very least, an entire  
chapter, if he ever got round to writing up his memoirs.  
  
----o  
  
Part Thirtythree  
Purity of Blood  
  
----o  
  
Gigelf placed his hands upon the floor of the dais, and   
whispered words known only to himself. Lysithea watched from the  
centre of the Grand Hall as the entire room erupted into a   
succession of circled hexagrams, rolling around the hall, then   
forming one giant hexagram over the top of the dais, centering on  
Gigelf himself. With another flash, Gigelf stood, energy blowing  
the billowing folds of his robes around him. The hexagram   
disappeared in an instant.  
  
Gigelf stood back as the energies died down, breathing   
heavily. "The place is set. The door shall open here...." He   
turned as a pair of altars rose from the middle of the dais,   
stopping at a predetermined height as he rested against the main   
altar, feeling decidedly ill. "Now go.... Prepare West for the   
ceremony...." He waved in Lysithea's direction, who nodded and  
leaned down to pick up Carey's body from the floor.  
  
At that moment, Lysithea registered the presence of another  
in the Grand Hall. He ignored her, knowing the confrontation that  
was to come between Gigelf and Fuyuka.  
  
Hazuki Fuyuka, the raven-haired beauty whose family had been   
one of the founding members of the Coven, and the woman whom the   
Coven had betrothed to Gigelf, was not one to be trifled with, as   
the hapless mage had found out to his chagrin.   
  
She did NOT agree with the method the Coven had chosen to open   
the door between the dimensions of Earth and Nemesis. Not that she   
could do much about it, especially in terms of dissuading the High   
Council of the Coven from this path. The one person she DID have   
control over was Gigelf, for Fuyuka knew Gigelf better than anyone,   
including Gigelf Liqueur.  
  
He hauled Carey into his arms and stood, trying to avoid   
Fuyuka's gaze as he approached the doorway, running her gauntlet as  
he strode past her. her eyes were like laserbeams in his back as he  
left the Hall.... He could, almost, feel the pain....  
  
Fuyuka gave up on Lysithea fairly quickly. She knew better   
than to try and remonstrate with him. He was nothing, in her eyes,  
but a parasite on Gigelf, and more.... He was one truly dedicated   
to the opening up of the doorway.... A truly committed servant of   
the Coven. It was impossible to deal with the kind of reckless   
idealism that existed within the likes of he.  
  
She turned back to Gigelf, who hadn't moved from the moment  
he had rested against the main altar, not even as much as   
registering her presence. Fuyuka was concerned at the energy he was  
expending to complete his task, physical, spiritual and mental.   
This failure to register her was a sure sign that he was collapsing  
under the pressure. At least, to her keen eyes, this was what it   
appeared to be.  
  
She took a few steps towards the dais, watching Gigelf, his  
figure, bent double over the altar, almost shabby and   
disheveled.... She could feel him, collapsing inwards.... She had  
read it in the cards.... They told her everything, about their   
relationship, about their destiny.... There were times she wished   
she didn't have the gift. They told her too much.  
  
"You wished to speak with me?" His tired voice echoed around  
the hall. At least he wasn't a complete basket case.  
  
"You really intend to kill that woman for our purposes?" She   
leveled her gaze as he turned to face her. His eyes appeared   
sunken in his pale face. "Her and another. Is that the price you  
want to pay for achieving our founders' goal?"  
  
"Their sacrifice... is worth it. You insult your forefathers  
by questioning the methods."  
  
----o  
  
"Unit Three to Control Central, we have secured our allotted   
sector. Fifteen dead, no casualties from our side. Over."  
  
"Control Central to Unit Two, are you in sight of the Sacred  
House Compound main building? Over."  
  
"Unit Two.... We have the main building in sight....   
Everything looks open from here. Over."  
  
"Control Central to all Units, begin moving into the Compound  
in five minutes. Eliminate all in your way. Over."  
  
----o  
  
"G.... Go is dead?" Aoi sat in the front passenger seat of   
Kaji's car, as stunned as he.  
  
"That's what.... Ariamu told me.... Shimazaki went to his   
house not that long ago after he'd gone missing from the station....  
They think Katarin might have had something to do with the murder of  
Mizuno's mother. He might have even killed her, himself, and ran   
afterwards."  
  
Aoi swallowed as Kaji slammed his door shut, more forcefully   
than was really necessary. He leaned back in his seat, staring at   
the roof.  
  
"The links that this case has.... It's getting more   
complicated by the moment.... This whole thing is more than just a  
murder of a Sailorsenshi.... If the information that Shimazaki was  
given by Katarin before his death, then this whole mess involves the  
Shiranui Yakuza...."  
  
"So where do the Sacred House and the Coven of Atrocity fit   
in?" Aoi asked, quietly. Kaji thought this over for a few moments.  
  
"We're talking about a Yakuza family, here.... A group that   
has a network of connections to business, government and a variety   
of other organisations that can operate as effective forms of money  
gathering. Both the House and the Coven would be registered as   
religious movements in Japan, and therefore nominally immune from   
the scrutiny of the tax department.... The Yakuza and various other  
criminal organisations have been using religion as a tax dodge for  
years, and there is little, if anything, that the authorities can do  
about it as long as they keep up the front of being official   
religions.... Hell, I've investigated money laundering schemes that  
have involved cults that worship nothing more substantial than a   
lump of rock discovered in the founder's front garden...."  
  
"Are you trying to say that organisations as old and powerful  
enough to hide themselves completely from public view, despite their  
size, are nothing more than fake cults founded for financial   
purposes?"  
  
"I don't know if the average member thinks of them in this   
capacity. Someone who is dedicated to what appears to be a worthy  
cause can blind themselves to the truth of the organisation's   
management.... And if an arm of that organisation is attacked, in  
any way, by an extraneous force, then the reaction of such a   
powerful body would be to hunt down and destroy that force.... In  
this case, the Sailorsenshi."  
  
"So the Shiranui Yakuza is just an arm of something greater?"  
  
"Hmm.... Not so much an arm, considering the size of the   
Shiranui. By taking on the Shiranui Yakuza, the Sailorsenshi   
attacked a fairly central part of a larger body. Shimazaki was sent  
a message, by Katarin, that Shiranui Kimi was somehow involved in   
the murder of Kino Makoto...."  
  
"More intimated than explicit." Aoi rubbed her forehead.   
"All this is giving me a headache."  
  
"Yes, well, I sincerely doubt that Kino's murder was the   
preserve of the Shiranui Leader's daughter. Shiranui Midan is not  
beyond using his own child as a vehicle for the needs of whatever  
power it is that has kept his family in control for this long...."  
  
----o  
  
"And you insult me by bringing them to my notice." Fuyuka   
spat, words that struck Gigelf with the force of a whip. "I am not  
here to argue the virtues of my ancestors, Gigelf.... For they,   
too, would be horrified that we are partaking in this travesty, an  
orgy of murder, not only of the two unfortunates whom you shall   
sacrifice upon the commencement of the ceremony, but those who exist  
within the walls of the Sacred House."  
  
"They are, and always will be, even if they are our   
brethren." Gigelf sighed. "There are many within the Sacred House  
who are kept under lock and key. By doing this, we shall free   
them."  
  
"Have you never thought of WHY they are kept under lock and   
key?" Fuyuka threw her hands in the air. "They are dangerous,   
Gigelf. They are crossbreeds with the very lowest forms of the   
Lucifer Folk.... Beings which are more decerebrate monster than  
intelligent lifeform...."  
  
Gigelf paused, closing his eyes. "I cannot believe what I'm  
hearing from you, Fuyuka.... You sound like a member of the Sacred  
House.... Your words are a product of their philosophies."  
  
"Maybe they are.... I'm still a member of the Coven, I shall   
always be a member of the Coven. But freedom for our kind cannot be  
at the cost of the lives of others, at the deaths of our very   
souls...." Fuyuka looked around searching for her words. "Can't   
there be a middle ground, upon which both the House and the Coven   
can step?"  
  
"Reunification of the two movements, you mean?" Gigelf   
chuckled. "I seem to remember that happening, many times in our   
long histories. Remember the Kyoto Pact of five hundred years   
ago? How long did that last? Come on, you can tell me...."  
  
"Three months.... So what? This is a crossroads we are   
talking about, Gigelf.... This isn't like Kyoto of five hundred  
years ago.... This is now, an age where we can totally annihilate  
each other with mutual pleasure."  
  
"All the better, then, that we finally break the deadlock, is  
it not. Once we have opened the doorway, the pettiness of human   
conflict shall end. We will create a new era." Gigelf shook his   
head, sadly. "There will be no messiah for us to follow, Fuyuka my  
dear. We must make our own destiny.... Even if it be the wrong   
one."  
  
----o  
  
"The monster was ME, and I LIKED the monster.... It wanted me  
to KILL.... TO KILL...." Miki backed away in wide-eyed fear as   
Makoto advanced on her, once more.  
  
"You have GOT to be KIDDING?" She said, half-facefaulted.   
"That is so.... So cliched...."  
  
"Oh? Really?" Makoto giggled. "The others are just starting  
to find out what monsters lie within them. Venus has already   
started down the track.... Mercury has been reformed into a   
beast... Saturn is recovering into one...." Makoto raised her head  
and laughed. "Monsters exist within us, because each and every one   
of us were born into the right families.... Family lines that   
contain the genetics of beasts.... Beasts from a world where magic  
is indistinguishable from science.... Nay, it is even a form of   
nature.... A world where solid forms and bodies are despised, for  
blood is the natural form, and the container of all magic." She   
stared into her right hand, then lifted it up to her mouth.  
  
Miki was contemplating the pinch method of waking up, as she   
watched Makoto bite heavily into her hand, tearing away at the flesh  
with her teeth. Blood poured from the rends, then started to circle  
her form, droplets spinning in orbits as they emerged. Miki watched  
the grisly pattern with a mixture of awe and nausea. Makoto lifted  
her hand away from her mouth, licking the blood from her lips.  
  
"I love the blood." She whispered. "It is OUR form. OUR   
being.... This pitiful vessel within which I was born.... I   
despise it so much.... I want to unify, and spread, across the   
planet, with the blood of others.... But because I am grounded into  
this form, I cannot...."  
  
"What are you?" Miki swallowed. "You Sailorsenshi? Just   
what are you all?"  
  
"A question I might ask of you, Watanabe Miki...." Makoto   
smiled. "After all, it wasn't because you had the powers of a   
Sailorsenshi that my Heart Crystal chose to meld with you...."  
  
----o  
  
"Unit two to Control Central.... Have gained access to the   
West Wing.... Have not met with any major resistance.... Moving  
through into the maintenance storerooms, over...."  
  
----o  
  
"Well, I think you can safely assume that she used the train  
to get here...." Haruka took a breath as she watched the ambulance  
officers carrying away Amaki's remains on a covered stretcher, in a  
secluded corner of the railway station's carpark.  
  
"Whatever the case, we can assume that she alighted from the  
train a few stops earlier.... It would have taken the conductor who  
saw her kill the man a little while to alert the driver of the   
train." Michiru crossed her arms as she turned to Haruka. "Well, I  
don't think we should stand on the railway station roof all night.   
It's not only cold in a senshi fuku, it's also rather wet.... Not   
that I mind getting wet or anything, I can think of better   
places...." She chuckled as Haruka facefaulted.  
  
Seconds later Uranus and Neptune made a rapid exit.  
  
----o  
  
"What do you mean, the compound is under siege? That's   
impossible!" Gen stared down the subordinate who had brought him   
the news, then started to pace through Carey's office, hands behind  
his back.  
  
"No, not impossible." Joachim crossed his arms as he stared  
down through the still shattered main windows, down at the   
Operations control room, where various messages of distress were   
coming in from across the Sacred House compound, met with total   
chaos and confusion by those trying to deal with it. "The Security  
System, a large portion of it, was generated by Carey herself."   
Joachim adjusted his cloak and doffed his wide-brimmed hat, turning  
to Gen. "I dare suggest that an evacuation of the compound might  
be in order."  
  
"Ridiculous! RIDICULOUS!" Gen threw his hands into the air.  
"After all these years, to simply abandon the Sacred House? With  
everything we have in here? Never!"  
  
"Otosama...." Naoko, who had been sitting in the corner of   
the office, having received an earbashing from her father after the  
affair with Usagi, stood and clutched the sleeve of her father's  
traditional dress. "With Carey gone.... We can't... We can't..."  
  
"NO!" He snapped at her. She backed away, stunned at his   
ferocity. Seeing the fear in her eyes, he softened, slightly.   
"Naoko-chan.... What was the basic tenet you were taught by the   
educators, from the moment you were born?"  
  
"The.... the Sacred House is my home.... It is the House of   
my soul, and must be protected at all costs...." Naoko turned as   
she felt someone take her arm. She was met with Jacquie's smile.  
  
"Protected at all costs." Jacquie placed a hand upon Naoko's.  
"Remember all the times we had to repeat that, together, with all of  
our friends?" Naoko swallowed at Jacquie's words, her face   
dropping.  
  
"They're just words, though...." Her voice was almost   
imperceptible. "This is reality.... This is the truth.... The   
only home I have ever known...."  
  
  
"It IS a dramatic change, however...." Joachim crossed his   
arms. "A change in the way the Coven have acted, all these years."  
  
"What do you mean?" Gen frowned.  
  
"Usually, they'd try to take prisoners of Sacred House   
members. As we would of theirs.... For re-education, so to speak.  
It seems rather wasteful, on their part, that they'd be so willing   
to kill anyone on sight."  
  
"Perhaps the force that has been sent in is not entirely   
Coven. I would not put it past them." Gen shook his head. "To   
send in the JSDF or some other hired force.... It's too cliched and  
obvious an idea, even for the Coven to contemplate."  
  
"Then, perhaps those who are profiting from the Coven's   
existence, then, as many members of the Diet do from the existence  
of the Sacred House." Joachim chuckled, darkly. "The financing of  
a religion, or a form of religion.... A great way to escape the   
clutches of the tax office in this country."  
  
"What is he talking about, Otosama?" Naoko blinked at her   
father. Gen peered aside at her, then casually waved her aside.   
"There are many methods to fund the infrastructure of an   
organisation such as the Sacred House, Naoko-chan.... You may   
understand, one day."  
  
"If that day ever comes...." Naoko pulled herself closer to  
Jacquie for comfort.  
  
----o  
  
"What are you trying to say?" Miki shivered. "That your   
Heart Crystal merged with mine because I am.... what YOU are?"  
  
"You have a lineage.... similar to my own." Makoto turned and  
looked upwards as her blood started to dance in strange, juggling   
movements, above her head. "A Dragon of Energy.... Perhaps....   
Capable of emitting electrical discharge.... One of the reasons the  
spirit of Jupiter chose MY body to inhabit.... Now that body has   
been killed, the spirit had to find another of like abilities."  
  
"What spirit of Jupiter?" Miki started to feel dizzy.  
  
"The spirit of the original Sailorjupiter.... A being   
immeasurably older than you can imagine.... By a divine power of  
unknown origin, Jupiter was saved by the great Queen Serenity, and  
her spiritual energy cast into a body that was able to defend itself  
until she could, once more, come to the fore and take control...."   
Makoto' hands dropped, and the blood fell into a circle around her.  
"But that was not to be.... I was betrayed, before I could truly   
take control...." She smiled, bitterly. "Betrayed by those who   
have already accepted the darknesses of their physical forms into  
themselves."  
  
Miki wasn't listening to Makoto's musings, however. She was  
more concerned with her part in all of this. "But... Are you   
trying to tell me that some kind of monster exists within me?" She  
clenched her fists. "That's bullshit, my parents were human."  
  
"Oh, they both looked human enough, indeed.... But inside....  
Inside.... Yes, it sometimes takes two of like blood to produce one  
of greater purity.... I believe your blood is of sufficient   
purity... for transformation to occur...." She flexed her fingers,  
and the circle of blood started to melt and reform, lines whizzing  
around the circle into figures and symbols.... A vast hexagram   
forming around her. "If that transformation is successful, I may,  
finally, be able to have my revenge upon those who killed me."  
  
"You intend to use my body.... For purposes of revenge?"   
Miki shook her head. "Never.... This is MY body.... I won't allow  
it!"  
  
Makoto giggled. "We shall she how long you keep that frame of  
mind, my dear.... Perhaps experiencing my death might change your   
views, what do you say?"  
  
  
Miki took a step back. "No...." She held up her hands as the  
blood hexagram was completed. A glow of energy rose from beneath   
Makoto's feet. Miki covered her eyes as the glow became unbearable.  
And then nothing.  
  
----o  
  
"What do you want?" Mercury confronted the strange individual  
who had emerged from the limousine, a man, dressed in a full dinner  
suit. The car had first pulled alongside her, then across her path,   
up onto the footpath, as she wandered along the quiet street in a   
contemplative mood. Actually, she was contemplating whether she   
should raid the Japanese Reserve Bank at the time, so it was no   
great loss, and considering Japan was in recession, there probably  
wouldn't have been a hell of a lot for her to raid....  
  
Anyway, the car blocked her path, which angered her a little,  
as she hated it when cars blocked her path. She'd always been too  
polite to say anything about it, but this time she ran around to the  
driver's door, wrenched it off the side of the car, pulled out the  
car's chauffeur and started laying into him with the kinds of   
attacks that would have done a professional wrestler proud.  
  
Before she could do too much damage to him, the strange   
passenger of the vehicle stepped out from the back, and interrupted  
her effort at chastising the transgressor of Mercury's unwritten   
laws. "Do you mind.... Drivers like he are extremely hard to   
find." The passenger placed a hand on her shoulder. She slapped   
the hand away and stood back several paces. From there, she   
interrogated him with the aforementioned question.  
  
  
"What do I want?" The passenger helped the hapless chauffeur  
to his feet. "Why, I want you, Sailormercury.... Or, let me put it  
this way.... I have been interested in employing you and your   
Sailor friends for quite some time.... I have need of your powers."  
  
"Need of MY powers, or the powers of my so-called friends?"   
She sniffed contemptuously. "They all think I'm weaker than they.  
Well, you know what I've done, tonight? You see all the destruction  
I've wreaked? They won't be calling THIS Sailorsenshi the weak link  
in the chain anymore." She put her hands on her hips and laughed  
maniacally.  
  
"Ano.... I didn't mean to express doubt in your abilities,   
Sailormercury. You are obviously VERY powerful.... But I have been  
keeping tabs on your activities, tonight.... And I wanted to say...  
I have NEED of someone like you...."  
  
"What for?" Mercury ranged up on the passenger and his   
chauffeur. The chauffeur cringed at her presence. "And who are   
you, anyway?"  
  
"I...." The passenger swallowed, using up as much of his   
reserves of bravery as charm. "I am Manakuto.... A highly esteemed   
member of the Diet Assembly, and of an organisation called the Coven   
of Atrocity...."  
  
"Coven of Atrocity?" Mercury rubbed her chin. "Sounds cool.  
Do you kill and maim lots of people for fun and profit?"  
  
"Ano...." There were times in Manakuto's career, as a master  
manipulator, where he genuinely began to worry about the things he   
would get himself into, most especially the people he had to   
associate with.  
  
  
END OF PART 33  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
I begin the paragraphs with a lot of questions, don't I? ^_^;; Too  
many people not knowing what the hell is going on. I wonder if   
everyone who has read this story up to this point is having the same  
trouble.... Ah well. On to the next chapter, which is entitled   
"Ghost Lighter", named as such for no known reason other than that   
the large Mokona plushy that sits on my computer told me to. ^_^   
You shall submit to the evil power of kawaiiness.... You shall say  
"PU".... @_@  
  
_________  
/ @ \ DDFA (The Right Dishonourable Mark A Page)  
/ / ^ ^ \ \ ayanami@internode.on.net  
/\  
\/ \/  
\___________/  
/_/ \_\ PU  
  
Version 1.0 - Tuesday October 27th 1998 


	34. SIU part 34: Ghost Lighter

--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page)  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon and Silent Mobius are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Kia  
Asamiya, Michitaka Kikuchi, Bandai, Studio Tron, Kadokawa and   
Kodansya. All other characters were thought up by me.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
A smile is nothing more than the mask of sadness.  
  
Saturn touched the rain-soaked leaves of the tree, allowing   
the water to run onto her fingers. She lifted that hand to her   
nose, sniffing the water. Any thought of comparing the rain with  
tears ended there for her. It was without the honest saltiness that  
she wished to partake, and flicked it away without a second thought.  
  
She turned and stared up at the window of the hospital room in  
which she lay. The dichotomy of being in two places at the same   
time didn't feel all that foreign to her, but then, in her short   
experience of being Saturn, that was not a surprise.... There had  
always been a divide between the girl named Tomoe Hotaru and the   
being who dwelled within.  
  
It was a good thing that nobody could see her. The sailorfuku  
she wore was something of an overdramatic symbol of the power she   
contained, being singularly flashy and mundane in the context of   
modern Japan, as much a symbol of lolita complex fantasies as it was  
a vague recall of the girls' school uniform. It was fortunate that  
her particular fuku was more subdued than those of the others.   
Walking around in these kinds of clothes, carrying a big, dangerous  
looking weapon on a stick, was likely to get her arrested.  
  
Clothing had never been all that important to Saturn. Pluto  
sometimes understood, but then, the both of them existed on a form   
of higher intellectual plane than the other senshi.... Like Gods,   
or spirits of destiny.... A contemptuous eye for the weakness of   
the physical, yet understanding of its importance to others. The   
entrapment of flesh being the acceptable facade by which to   
interrelate.  
  
  
She closed her eyes and raised her face to the sky, silently   
whispering enchantments she'd thought she'd forgotten, long ago.   
The hushing, soporific nature of the words calmed her spirit and   
allowed her vision and sense of vision to gain a greater clarity.   
She could see whisps of consciousness, fleeing and moving through   
the city, seemingly uncaring of its own fragility. She smiled....   
She had, long ago, come to accept the weaknesses of mortality as a  
given.... That was why the smile was the mask of sadness.... It   
tries to hide the inevitability of the end, and reminds all of the  
secret garden in which they wish to play.  
  
  
The philosophy had to wait, however, much as she enjoyed the   
brief moments of divine reflection. There were things she had to   
do. Things that could only bring tears to her eyes.  
  
----o  
  
Part Thirtyfour  
Ghost Lighter  
  
----o  
  
"What do you want?" Mercury confronted the strange individual  
who had emerged from the limousine, a man, dressed in a full dinner  
suit. The car had first pulled alongside her, then across her path,   
up onto the footpath, as she wandered along the quiet street in a   
contemplative mood. Actually, she was contemplating whether she   
should raid the Japanese Reserve Bank at the time, so it was no   
great loss, and considering Japan was in recession, there probably  
wouldn't have been a hell of a lot for her to raid....  
  
Anyway, the car blocked her path, which angered her a little,  
as she hated it when cars blocked her path. She'd always been too  
polite to say anything about it, but this time she ran around to the  
driver's door, wrenched it off the side of the car, pulled out the  
car's chauffeur and started laying into him with the kinds of   
attacks that would have done a professional wrestler proud.  
  
Before she could do too much damage to him, the strange   
passenger of the vehicle stepped out from the back, and interrupted  
her effort at chastising the transgressor of Mercury's unwritten   
laws. "Do you mind.... Drivers like he are extremely hard to   
find." The passenger placed a hand on her shoulder. She slapped   
the hand away and stood back several paces. From there, she   
interrogated him with the aforementioned question.  
  
  
"What do I want?" The passenger helped the hapless chauffeur  
to his feet. "Why, I want you, Sailormercury.... Or, let me put it  
this way.... I have been interested in employing you and your   
Sailor friends for quite some time.... I have need of your powers."  
  
"Need of MY powers, or the powers of my so-called friends?"   
She sniffed contemptuously. "They all think I'm weaker than they.  
Well, you know what I've done, tonight? You see all the destruction  
I've wreaked? They won't be calling THIS Sailorsenshi the weak link  
in the chain anymore." She put her hands on her hips and laughed  
maniacally.  
  
"Ano.... I didn't mean to express doubt in your abilities,   
Sailormercury. You are obviously VERY powerful.... But I have been  
keeping tabs on your activities, tonight.... And I wanted to say...  
I have NEED of someone like you...."  
  
"What for?" Mercury ranged up on the passenger and his   
chauffeur. The chauffeur cringed at her presence. "And who are   
you, anyway?"  
  
"I...." The passenger swallowed, using up as much of his   
reserves of bravery as charm. "I am Manakuto.... A highly esteemed   
member of the Diet Assembly, and of an organisation called the Coven   
of Atrocity...."  
  
"Coven of Atrocity?" Mercury rubbed her chin. "Sounds cool.  
Do you kill and maim lots of people for fun and profit?"  
  
"Ano...." There were times in Manakuto's career, as a master  
manipulator, where he genuinely began to worry about the things he   
would get himself into, most especially the people he had to   
associate with. "It has not been.... unknown, for our group to be   
involved in such... activities."  
  
"Ah, so you are a corrupt politician, who manipulates the   
hallowed halls of power in the name of the secret society you work  
for.... I have to say, you're a villain if ever I saw one.... I   
don't like villains." And with that, Mercury swatted the poor   
chauffeur aside and gripped Manakuto by the collar of his suit,   
lifting him off the ground. "Of course, I'll work for you if there  
is something in it for me...."  
  
"We can... talk about... the terms of... your employment... in  
the... car... Can we not?" Manakuto said through a half-choked   
throat. Mercury smiled at him.  
  
"Well, now, I don't know if a cute, sexy young thing like me   
really wants to get into a car with a big, mean, nasty old man like  
you.... I mean, who knows what unimaginable things you might do to  
me...." She chuckled and let Manakuto go, allowing him to fall to   
his feet.   
  
As he sat on his haunches, leaning against the side of the   
limousine for support, rubbing his sore throat, he watched as she   
walked along the car, running a hand along the bonnet, swaying in an   
almost seductive fashion. "Power.... Money.... Sex.... That's   
all you bigwigs ever seem to concern yourselves over.... What is it  
that you really want from me, Manakuto-san? After killing my   
comrade, Jupiter, why would you bother to make such an offer to me?"  
She turned to him, smiling. "Oh yes, Dietman.... I have heard of  
your name in passing.... With my family connections, how could I   
not? I never would have thought I'd meet you like this....   
Strange, the way destiny shapes things, is it not?"  
  
Manakuto stood, using the front door to the limo as support.  
"What do you know? About the death of Jupiter?"  
  
"That she deserved what she got, stupid bitch that she was."   
Mercury sidled back to him. "Death can be nothing but a pleasure   
for someone whose life no longer followed the path of destiny.   
Don't you agree, Dietman?"  
  
As she started to finger the front of his shirt, the first  
few spots of yet another rainshower started to fall from the dark  
sky. Manakuto looked up with annoyance. "Don't you think we should  
get into the car, now? I think we're about to have a downpour at   
any moment...." He looked aside at his unconscious chauffeur, lying  
in the middle of the road. "I don't think we'll be going anywhere  
fast, though."  
  
"Why? Are you afraid of a little water?" Mercury giggled   
cutely, then threw her arms over Manakuto's shoulders, staring into  
his eyes. "I love water. The sound of it.... The feel of it....  
The very first sound I remember hearing, as a child, was the pelting  
of rain on the roof of my house.... It is a constant companion....  
Water.... It lives with me and within me.... Does it frighten you,  
Dietman, to allow yourself to become just a little wet?"  
  
"I really don't see the poi...." He began, before she placed  
a hand over his mouth, looking from side to side in a conspiratorial  
manner.  
  
"Shhhh.... Even though I am a senshi of water, there is   
another who is also adept with such things.... Whilst hers knows  
only the depths of the oceans, these droplets that fall from the sky  
can be her ears and eyes as well as mine.... And she is a danger to  
you and your people.... Let us not talk here, where she can listen  
in to what we have to say."  
  
And with a snap of her fingers, she, Manakuto, the chauffeur   
and the limousine, disappeared into thin air....  
  
----o  
  
Kaji sat upright in his seat as rain started to pelt against  
the roof of the car. "It's close to 24 hours since we left that   
damned hotel.... Things have just got worse since then...." He   
turned to Aoi. "So where do you want to go? Home?"  
  
Aoi lifted her hand from over her eyes and blinked at Kaji.  
"Home? What for?"  
  
"Where else can you go? Our office has been totally trashed  
and it is unlikely that you'll find a friendly reception at   
Central.... Especially after what happened with Watanabe-san."  
  
Aoi sighed and shook her head. "I'm sorry about that, okay?  
It's not my fault that the Jupiter heart crystal decided to explode  
in your vicinity." She drooped forward, banging her head on the   
dashboard. "Baka! Baka! Baka!"  
  
"What's wrong now?"  
  
She lifted her head up again and looked at him, smiling sadly.  
"It's nothing.... I'm just feeling extremely down on myself just   
now."  
  
"So you should."  
  
"Thanks for the sympathy." Aoi huffed, puffing up her cheeks.  
"And anyway, I can't go home.... Those psycho Sacred House girls   
might still be there."  
  
"Not to mention half of the Sacred House operations team....  
Well, that doesn't leave us with much, does it?" Kaji did up his  
belt and started the car. Aoi watched him, suspiciously.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
"You wanted to go after that Pagan Lacey guy.... According to  
what you've told me, he and the Meehan woman should be on their way  
to the Coven headquarters right now, if they haven't already broken   
in."  
  
"What? You've got to be kidding, right? We just walk   
straight into the headquarters of the Coven of Atrocity?"  
  
"Why not? I've done it before." Kaji smiled sweetly at Aoi,  
and hit the accelerator pedal before she could question him any   
further.  
  
----o  
  
"Would you please remind me what the purpose of bringing me   
here is, exactly?" Pagan crossed his arms, staring around the dimly  
lit and musty room that comprised one of the Coven's launderettes.   
"To think I send my clothes here to be washed. Must get myself a  
washing machine of my own."  
  
"It's no different in the House." Mhaere opened up one of the  
large, industrial-strength machines that sat along the walls,  
imposing in their bulk and tarnished surfaces. "There are still   
clothes in this one.... Sodden, too.... Efficient your washmaids   
aren't."  
  
"Just answer the question." Pagan huffed as he stared at   
Mhaere's rear end, sticking up as she leaned over the tub. She   
looked back and him and rolled her eyes.  
  
"You have absolutely no sense of modesty, do you."  
  
"Not really. Not when someone has transported me halfway   
across the city into a dirty and dingy little hole like this. Now,  
are you going to answer my question or not?"  
  
Mhaere stood up and turned, subconsciously placing her hands  
behind her. "You said you wanted proof that your friend, Lysithea  
Caprice, was involved in activities that you consider to be against  
the charter of the Coven."  
  
"Not in those words, I'm sure." Pagan sniffed haughtily.   
"The real reason, I suspect, is that you wanted me away from Aoi."   
He chuckled. "Want me all for yourself. Not that I can blame you.  
A lot of people feel that way about me."  
  
"You really think a lot of yourself, don't you?" Mhaere   
sneered. "If I really wanted to just fuck the living shit out of   
you, I could do it, here and now.... And there wouldn't be a thing  
you could do in your little repertoire of powers that would stop   
me."  
  
Pagan looked at her, dubiously. "So what's stopping you,   
hmmm? Modesty?" He laughed out loud. "Face it, red.... I   
wouldn't MIND it.... Just don't expect any lasting relationship to  
come from it."  
  
"I'm not looking for lasting relationships. I'd just add you  
to my harem of mildly attractive men to be chained around my bed."  
Mhaere shrugged and walked over to the only door that lead out of   
the room. "As it is, if we landed in any other part of the Coven's  
complex, we'd have set off a myriad of alarms. The House is not the  
only establishment that is guarded by the most up-to-date security."  
  
"Oh come on. I'm sure anyone who came running to see who it   
was would be intimidated by your mere physical presence." Pagan   
smiled as Mhaere glanced fleetingly, and painfully, in his direction.  
  
"That never stopped them trying to make a mess of me the last  
time I was on this world." She turned away, placing a hand on the   
back of the door, wiping away some of the moisture that clung to it.  
"Of course, there was a time when everyone wanted me dead, one way   
or another, so I've become a little nihilistic in my view of   
allegiances. Excuse me if I sneer in contempt at your cloying view  
of the Coven as the saving grace of all mankind."  
  
"Well, yes, I suppose having everyone you know want to kill   
you can skew your view of society." Pagan stepped up behind her.  
"Doesn't look like it did much physical damage to you, though."  
  
"I was killed.... My body splattered and torn like a hunk of  
meat. I had been hunted down like an animal, and was butchered like  
one." She turned to him as she placed her hand against the door   
handle, gently. "Unfortunately, for everyone, it's a lot harder   
than that to rid them of my presence. Nemesis is a world that   
doesn't apply to the traditional forces of nature. There, the   
concept of a body is anathema to existence. And so, I was cast from  
this world and into that one."  
  
"So, you have seen the world of our forbears.... What was it   
like?" Mhaere's eyes went distant at Pagan's question. He studied  
the expression with interest.  
  
"It's both heaven and hell in one. If that is, at all,   
possible."  
  
"A form of purgatory?"  
  
"Nothing is purged by going there. You just learn to be like   
one of them. One of the Lucifer Folk. And all I ever did when I   
was there was look for a way out." She returned from whatever place  
her mind had taken her, gazing at Pagan directly. "I left signposts  
for those who might have followed me there.... Directing them here.  
It was the least I could do. You arrive there with nothing more   
than the desire to return. After a while, you start to like the   
pleasures and the pains that it has to offer. If I had not left   
when I did, it is likely that I would have suicided myself to its  
distractions."  
  
"Suicided?" Pagan frowned, but Mhaere ignored the question   
and opened the door, continuing.  
  
"When I ended up back in this world, I suddenly found myself  
back in an approximation of my former body, only stronger, and more  
immune to the genetic mutations that had occured to me the first   
time, thus I do not progress out of this form, although I could if I  
wished to. If there is one thing you learn by going to Nemesis,   
it's the true extent of your powers, and how to manage them. One of  
the reasons why, if I really wanted to, I could do to you whatever I  
wanted, here and now."  
  
"So why can't I?" Pagan huffed. "What is wrong with me, as I   
am, that is stopping me from achieving this so-called state of   
perfection?" Mhaere was surprised by his insistent tone.  
  
"Oh no, I'm not telling you the secret THAT easily." She   
waved a hand at him, dismissively, as she stepped through the   
doorway into the ironing room beyond, equally as vacated as the   
laundry had been upon their arrival. She stepped into the middle of  
the room, hands on hips. "Look at this.... One would think they   
were on strike."  
  
"Why?" Pagan followed her through.  
  
"Hmm?" Mhaere feigned distraction. "Why won't I tell you   
what?" She smiled wickedly, making Pagan furious.  
  
"The secret.... Of perfecting one's own powers.... Is it   
part of the process, of going to Nemesis.... Of losing one's body   
as part of the event?"  
  
"Pagan...." Mhaere took a breath. "Perfecting yourself, as a  
Lucifer Folk, is as much a curse as it is a catharsis of being. And  
it hurts like hell." She wagged a finger at him. "Don't allow   
yourself to fall prey to the philosophies that the Coven espouses,   
and your own desire to become something more than you are, now."  
  
"That's easy for YOU to say. You're already there."  
  
"Yes. A bitch, isn't it?" Mhaere gave him a toothy grin.  
  
"But...." Pagan looked around for the words. "That was....   
That was one of the reasons I joined the Coven.... I became   
fascinated.... With this thing that I was.... I wanted to see how  
far I could take myself, but I was afraid of the consequences, to  
myself and to others." He clenched his fists. "If there IS a way   
of achieving this without those consequences...."  
  
"Oh, there are consequences. You haven't been listening to   
what I've been telling you." She paused, dramatically. "And if we  
don't stop your friend, and those who are working with him, those  
consequences shall be borne out upon this city, and perhaps the rest  
of the world."  
  
----o  
  
Usagi landed on her butt. Hard. Hard enough for a fit of the  
wails to build up inside her, if it weren't for the fact that she  
didn't know where the hell she was, and was too frightened to make  
any noise, just in case someone nasty appeared to remonstrate with   
her.  
  
She had landed on the tiled surrounds of a large swimming   
pool.... Even larger than the public pool she had often gone to in  
her younger days. The pool was set in a large, covered hall, but   
alas, there were no windows so she could get a bearing on her   
surrounds.  
  
The hall was lit by a simple exit sign above a door at the   
other end, giving it a fairly ghostly atmosphere. The only relief  
was the gentle buzz of the pool filter in the background.  
  
Usagi got to her feet, rubbing her tailbone and performing a  
little dance as she tried to recover movement against the pain she  
felt. She stopped when she realised she was alone.  
  
"S... Setsuna-san? Pluto, where are you?" Her voice,   
regardless of its deliberate softness, echoed around the hall,   
coming back to her as a confirmation that she was, indeed, sans   
Setsuna. She shivered for a second. "C... Cthulu-san? Are you   
there?"  
  
"Blurkle snorkle...." Came the bubbling reply from the bottom  
of the pool. Usagi ran to the side, dropping to her knees as she   
stared into the deep end.  
  
"Cthulu-san.... What are you doing down there?"  
  
"Norgle norgle slorkle glrgle...." The large, round thing   
said as he sat at the bottom. Usagi rubbed the back of her head.  
  
"Ano.... Can't you swim? I thought you were able to levitate  
your body...."  
  
"Bworkle!" Cthulu rumbled, annoyedly. "Blurkle slorkle   
bwarkle sloogle."  
  
"Don't tell me.... Water takes away your powers, right?"   
Usagi sat back and crossed her arms as Cthulu went quiet with   
embarrassment. "That's just great. How long does it take for you  
to drown?"  
  
"Blurkle."  
  
"Yeah, I forgot about our little communication difficulty....  
It would be SOOOO much easier if Pluto were here.... Damn her....  
Just when I need her, she goes and disappears on me."  
  
----o  
  
Setsuna was pissed off, and that didn't happen too often.   
This time, though, she had cause to be angry....  
  
She was sitting, neck deep, in a large tub of green paint,   
staring out of the tub's open top at the white, almost sterile   
surrounds of the storeroom. After a few moments of contemplative,   
steaming anger, she lifted herself over the side of the tub, and   
promptly slipped, falling to the floor with a squishing thud that   
sprayed green in every direction, messing up the room's cleanliness,   
good and proper.  
  
She managed to get herself to her feet before she slipped   
again, falling hard on her back and winding herself, and came to the  
ultimate conclusion that walking was going to be a great deal harder  
than she expected. So, she got to her hands and knees, still   
slipping and sliding over the surface of the floor, and crawled her  
way across to the sole door that lead out of the room.  
  
Managing to lift herself up against the door, she clasped at   
the handle. It was round, and with the paint on her hands, it   
slipped from her grasp repeatedly. She clenched her teeth and let  
out a frustrated growl as she managed to get it to turn, far enough  
that she could feel it reach its maximum.  
  
She then leaned back, allowing herself to fall on her back as  
the door swung open, revealing the darkness of a hall outside. She  
lay there, listening, for a few seconds. She could hear movement in  
the hallway.... Footsteps.... But nothing definite. She wondered  
at first if they were Usagi's cautious footsteps, since Usagi had   
been gated away with her....  
  
Damn that Cthulu Kanzaki, she thought to herself.... The   
unpredictability of where that creature's powers may take them   
evaded even her foresight....  
  
A flash... Merely the briefest image, came to her mind....   
An image of immense horror.... Of death on a scale she had not seen  
for a very long time.... Death that was descending upon her, and   
her Princess, at this very moment.  
  
With all her effort, she managed to get to her feet, the paint  
becoming sticky as it started to dry on her. Despite the   
discomfort, she stepped up to the doorway and peered out, retracting  
said head before a rain of bullets struck the door frame.  
  
"There's another one.... In the room up ahead. A mutant   
freak...." She heard a shout from down the corridor.  
  
"How can you tell?" Came a reply.  
  
"This one was all green.... All over.... Even her hair...."  
The original voice answered.  
  
  
"No...." Setsuna muttered to herself. "I can't allow   
this.... I can't allow this to happen...." She clenched a fist and  
closed her eyes, allowing her powers to take over as she faded from  
the room.  
  
Seconds later, green paint sprayed the walls as a succession   
of grenades, thrown into the room, did their work, dowsing the feet   
of the soldiers who stormed in after the explosions had subsided.  
  
"Aww shit...." The Unit Leader spat as he looked down at his  
boots. "Good one, Abe.... Now anyone in this shithouse joint will  
know where we've been.... Just great."  
  
Abe turned to his commanding officer, and back at the four   
other soldiers who stood behind him, staring at him. "But the door  
was closed, I tell, you, then it opened and this green thing popped   
its head out...."  
  
"Tell that to the General when we're finished...." The Unit  
Leader slung his service rifle over his shoulder. "They don't pay   
us any more for killing civvies. Move out.... This is bound to   
bring someone or something out of the woodwork...."  
  
  
END OF PART 34  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Next Chapter - "The Inheritance of Lucifer"  
  
_________  
/ @ \ DDFA (The Right Dishonourable Mark A Page)  
/ / ^ ^ \ \ ayanami@internode.on.net  
/\  
\/ \/  
\___________/  
/_/ \_\ PU  
  
Version 1.0 - Sunday, November 29th 1998 


	35. SIU part 35: The Inheritance of Lucifer

--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page)  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon and Silent Mobius are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Kia  
Asamiya, Michitaka Kikuchi, Bandai, Studio Tron, Kadokawa and   
Kodansya. All other characters were thought up by me.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
The pattern of darkness covered the city, occasionally   
exploding with brief flashes of light. The eternal battle between  
the two extremes, fought out in the night sky over the city of   
Tokyo. The home of twenty five million people.  
  
Everyone in the city could feel the sense of anticipation, of  
something about to occur.... It is the normal sensation that all   
feel shortly before the onset of a thunderstorm. Charged particles  
flying through the atmosphere, controlling the emotions of living  
beings whose very thoughts were nothing more than the product of  
similar electrochemical processes, albeit more subtle and refined  
than the extreme display of raw power.  
  
Spirits were energy, that much was known to her.... Guided  
and controlled by their environments, they became intertwined,   
sometimes guiding that environment to an expression of their will.  
She could feel their combined will, and it was not a happy one. The  
dead, of many different worlds and dimensions, trying to warn those  
who lived within Tokyo of the impending disaster, or disasters, that  
were about to befall them, be they active or passive. It was so   
hard for her to blot out the emotions they were generating, that she  
almost lost the girl she had been following.  
  
  
Her dark eyes watched as the girl, dressed in the flamboyant   
and colorful, yet rainsoaked, kimono stopped at the lonely street   
corner, looking tired and haggard.  
  
She raised her glaive to the sky and took in the rain, feeling  
the dark wetness across her body, drinking all that fell upon her   
tongue. The bitter taste of the city's pollution made her feel   
strangely exultant. Proof positive of the world in its dying days.  
The time wasn't far away where simply walking in the rain would be  
enough to kill... almost anything. But that didn't concern her.   
Whether her flesh corrupted was not of her interest. What did   
interest her was the girl she had been watching. More than that....  
The girl's very NATURE.  
  
Shiranui Kimi. She knew the name, of course.... There was no  
way Saturn could escape knowing, living with Pluto as she did....   
It hadn't initially occured to her who Shiranui Kimi really was....  
The time between death and rebirth did have lasting effects upon the  
memory of one such as her, for whom life and death really had no   
boundaries.  
  
Time passed.  
  
----o  
  
"She's stopped."  
  
"I can see that." Neptune harrumphed with annoyance at her   
partner's obvious statement. Standing atop the apartment block,   
they looked down upon their quarry. "Is she tiring?"  
  
"She wouldn't stop. Not whilst trying to reach her lover....  
She shall ignore her physical state to make sure Nakano is alive."   
Uranus crossed her arms and shook her head. "Should we allow her to  
make contact with Nakano?"  
  
"It would mean having to deal with the both of them." Neptune  
looked aside at Uranus.  
  
"You aren't worried about dealing with two ordinary humans,   
are you?"  
  
"I have a bad feeling about them." Neptune lifted her mirror,  
staring into it, deeply. "I keep seeing darkness.... An eternal   
darkness and silence. I thought it to mean our potential deaths,   
but it seems to be something else...." She paused, then looked up,   
to her right.  
  
----o  
  
Time passed.  
  
Saturn smiled as Neptune detected her presence. Her hostile  
presence, without truly knowing who it was she was detecting. Sad  
that the best of friends and the bitterest of enemies often formed  
from the same source.  
  
  
Time passed.  
  
  
----o  
  
Part Thirtyfive  
The Inheritance of Lucifer  
  
----o  
  
  
Gen stared into the distance, blankly, ignoring the chaos that  
was going on around him. Operatives, in various states of nervous  
panic, were shouting against each other, trying to report some new  
hell that was befalling the Sacred House compound as it occurred.   
Without the calm control of their Chief of Staff, however, much of   
that information was being lost to posterity.  
  
Gen swallowed as thoughts raced through his mind. Thoughts of  
his late wife. "Lifetime...." He mumbled to himself, as he   
clutched the Seal of Office that was pinned to the collar of his   
cloak. "Never enough time to enjoy life and be happy." His   
melancholy was broken by Joachim's baritone.  
  
"Several sections of the compound are now in enemy control."   
Joachim spoke as he attempted to listen to the reports he was   
getting. "I have ordered a withdrawal of non-essential staff and   
members from the neighboring sections." He paused as he looked up   
at Gen, from the console at which he had been sitting. "This   
includes the Holding Cell Block for recent arrivals."  
  
"Doctor Bartholemew isn't going to like that." Gen chuckled   
to himself. "Where is the good doctor, anyway?"  
  
"I'd like to say that she has scarpered, but she's rather too  
obsessed with her work to leave her charges in the lurch." Joachim  
shrugged. "So, I take it you have ordered your daughters to be   
evacuated, then?" Gen's eyes flashed surprise as Joachim swiveled  
around, leaning back in his seat.  
  
"I... have not yet considered what I am going to do with   
them." He let out a long breath, realising how lame the answer   
sounded. "If the situation gets any worse...."  
  
"It might be a good idea if they were to link up with some of   
the girls who are already outside the compound.... Firenze has   
reported in. She, Hayakawa and Wright are safe, for the time   
being."  
  
"IF the situation gets any worse, my old friend, then I shall,  
most certainly, place them somewhere safe. Even if they may not   
wish to leave the compound." Gen turned away.  
  
----o  
  
"Pluto?" Usagi gasped as she half-heaved Cthulu from the   
swimming pool in which he had been immersed. Before she could stop  
herself, she let the unfortunate thing go, and he toppled back into  
the water with a loud splash and a surprised gurgle.  
  
Pluto had appeared from nowhere, landing at the other end of   
the pool. "Princess...." Was all she managed to get out before   
slipping on the paint that was still stuck to her feet. She went  
flying forward and landed in the pool with an even louder splash and  
surprised gurgle than Cthulu had achieved. Usagi stood and stared  
at the growing cloud of green paint that filled the formerly crystal  
clear water.  
  
"P.... Pluto...." She swallowed, then leapt over the top of  
Cthulu in a flying dive and plummeted face first into the depths of  
the cloud. For a few seconds, she couldn't see anything, then her  
face slammed hard into Pluto's midriff, causing the both of them to   
take in a mouthful of water. They both made for the surface at the  
same time.  
  
They exploded through the surface at the same time and spat   
water into each other's faces. "Oi!" Usagi was the first to empty  
her mouth and protest. "Stop that!"  
  
"I could say the same thing to you." Setsuna retorted. "I   
can't see a thing. My eyes are full of green."  
  
Usagi stared at Setsuna, still stained with streaks of green  
paint, and started to giggle. "What in the name of Kami happened to  
you? Your hair is a shade greener than I remember it ever being."  
  
"You can thank your friend for that. Attempted a physical   
transport without really thinking about the destination." Setsuna  
rubbed her eyes, wiping the green from her face. "I happened to   
land in a large tank of green paint.... What a large tank of green  
paint is doing in the Sacred House compound, I have no idea..."  
  
"....But you certainly found it." Usagi giggled.  
  
"Blorkle blorkle." Cthulu rose to the surface next to them.  
Setsuna stared at him with a dubious expression.  
  
"Don't you blorkle me." She prodded him in the hide. "Next  
time, think about what you are doing. I bet you can't get out of   
this pool without our help."  
  
"Blurgle." Cthulu turned a shade blue with embarrassment.   
Usagi rolled her eyes and patted the hapless thing.  
  
"Water cuts his power to shreds.... He can't float out of   
here until we dry him." She began to dog paddle to the side of the  
pool. "I was in the process of doing just that when you arrived."  
  
"Well, you better be quick about it." Setsuna started pushing  
Cthulu after Usagi as the blond climbed out, splashing water left,   
right and centre. Usagi pushed her wet hair from her eyes and   
looked down at Setsuna, questioningly.  
  
"Why is that?"  
  
"Because, unless you wish to be caught up in a massacre of  
grand proportions, we should make ourselves as scarce as possible."  
  
"A massacre?" Usagi looked horrified. "Who? What? Why?   
How?" Setsuna rolled her eyes and pointed to Cthulu. Usagi took   
the hint and grabbed one of his proffered limbs, using her entire  
weight to pull the large lump from the water. Cthulu rolled forward  
as her emerged, and landed on top of Usagi, looking rather pleased  
with himself. Setsuna followed suit, sighing as Usagi thumped into  
him. "Would you get offa me?"  
  
"Hurkle snurkle glorb." Cthulu made as good a shrug as a   
large ball of flesh could, and rolled off. Usagi sat up, rubbing  
her belly.  
  
"If you're not careful. I might just kick you back in the   
pool." Setsuna leant her a hand up, and she staggered to her feet.  
"How ever did I get lumbered with a hentai monster? I want my money  
back."  
  
Then Usagi keeled over, gagging. It was so sudden that it   
caught even Setsuna by surprise. Both she and Cthulu moved   
alongside her with some concern, as they watched her complexion turn  
pale. "Princess...." Setsuna took Usagi's hand and cradled her   
against her body. "What is it? What is wrong?"  
  
"I don't know..." Usagi placed her other hand across her   
mouth. "It's like...." She paused, trying to think. "Can't you   
feel it? Waves of energy.... Close.... From someone inextricably   
linked to me.... HORRIBLE waves of... Almost EVIL energy." Usagi  
looked up at Setsuna. "I felt like this before.... Not very   
strongly.... But I could FEEL it. Back in the...."  
  
"The Crown Coffee Parlour." Setsuna finished her sentence for  
her. "When Venus changed."  
  
"Yes, when Minako...." Usagi looked at Setsuna in horror.   
"It can't be happening again? Not again."  
  
"I'm afraid, Princess, as I have told you many a time already,  
it is too late for Venus. She is already well along a path that   
shall drive her to heights of horror we cannot even conceive."  
  
"NO! It can't be. Not Minako-chan.... I refuse to believe  
that, whatever her problem is, it cannot be fixed. All I have to   
do... All I have to do is.... use some of my healing energy, or use  
the power of the Ginzuishou, in some manner...." Usagi paused,   
seeing the sadness in Setsuna's eyes. "What? Why are you looking  
at me that way?"  
  
"Oh Princess.... You are so... So PURE. You could never   
begin to understand what it is your mother has done...."  
  
----o  
  
Michelle opened her eyes as the door to her cell was thrown   
open. She had only just been given some respite from the attentions   
of her persecutors, and was attempting to rest, so the sudden   
arrival of a couple of the Sacred House's guardoliers caught her off  
guard.  
  
"What is...." She managed to get out before she was hauled to  
her feet from the floor of the cell by both arms and dragged out   
into the corridor beyond. There, many other dazed and bewildered   
people, some of whom she recognised, others she didn't, were milling   
around with their hands and feet shackled along a single, thick   
chain. The guardoliers let go of her as Dr Bartholomew stepped up to  
her with a couple of her orderlies.  
  
"This one is a VERY recent arrival, from the Coven, no less.   
Make sure she is bound firmly...."  
  
"Michelle!" The deep voice came from the man being bundled   
from the neighboring cell by another pair of guardoliers. Michelle  
blinked, recognising Nobuhiro immediately. "Michelle, thank Kami   
you're alright...."  
  
"Watanabe-san...." Michelle made to move towards him, but was  
held back by her pair of guardoliers.  
  
"...And make sure HE is VERY well bound.... And gagged. If I  
hear ANOTHER word out of him, lord help me...." Dr Bartholemew   
rolled her eyes as she pointed at Nobuhiro, then moved on as someone  
was taken from the next cell in line.  
  
"Intolerable woman!" Nobuhiro spat with contempt, almost   
tripping up one of Bartholomew's orderlies as they passed. Both he  
and Michelle were then cuffed up along the chain and pushed back   
against the opposing wall by the guardoliers. Michelle moved as   
close as she was allowed to the large sumo wrestler as their watch  
thinned out.  
  
"Thank God for a moderately friendly face in this joint. I   
thought you'd have been drugged and layed flat, by now...."   
Nobuhiro looked down at her, imperiously.  
  
"Unfortunately, I've done my best to be a model houseguest....  
I wasn't given much of a choice." He licked his lips. "However, it  
would appear our... 're-education', for want of a better term, has   
been put on hold."  
  
"Why? What is happening?"  
  
"I'm lead to believe that a group, acting on the behest of the  
Coven, has made a large-scale raid on the House's compound....   
We're being... evacuated, I think you can say." Nobuhiro gave her   
an ironic smile. "Did they try to play on your claustrophobia in   
the little time they were given?"  
  
"Yes, they did. It was not much fun." Michelle screwed up   
her nose at the memory.  
  
"Well, I don't think we're in for much of a fun time from   
here, either. How does it feel to be herded like cattle?" He   
huffed, wishing he could cross his arms, already feeling the bite of  
the handcuffs around his thick wrists.  
  
Before Michelle could answer him, there was a scream, and some  
gunshots from an automatic rifle. The young woman who had been   
chained up in the line before Michelle started to slump to the   
floor, half her head missing. Michelle stared at the woman in   
horror, feeling her dead weight as she was pulled down with her.   
Nobuhiro turned, looking up the corridor, from where the shots were  
being fired. "TAIHEN!" He shouted, and grabbed Michelle, throwing  
her down and sandwiching her between the dead woman and his own   
prone form. There were more shots and screams, this time from the   
other end of the corridor. Michelle could hear bodies hitting the   
floor, and felt the tug of the chain as helpless prisoners attempted  
to flee, all the while staring into the head of the dead woman,   
unable to close her eyes in morbid fascination and fear.  
  
Now there was gunfire from what seemed like every direction,   
as she heard return volleys from the guardoliers. She held her   
breath and screwed her eyes shut, shaking uncontrollably as she   
heard footsteps running up and down the corridor, and the last dying  
replies of the rifles. Then there was silence, albeit for only a  
couple of seconds.  
  
"Jesus Christ." Said the voice of a youngish man. "This lot  
were all chained up..."  
  
"Prisoners of these bastards." Said another, older voice.   
"If what we've been told is true, they're no different to the rest   
of them. Just less co-operative." He paused. "ARE THERE ANY MORE  
IN THIS SECTION?"  
  
"No, this area is clear." Another voice, that of a woman,   
from the other end of the corridor.  
  
"Right." Said the older, male voice." Make sure you empty   
out all the cells, and that all of this lot really ARE dead."  
  
  
Michelle swallowed, allowing herself to breath, shallowly.   
She wanted to run, and started to move in an effort to move   
Nobuhiro, but felt his hands restraining her. He was still alive.  
"Don't..." He whispered. "Don't move a muscle. Not until I tell  
you to, have you got that clear?"  
  
She peered through one eye, looking sideways at him. He was  
beaming at her with his invariably overconfident smile. After   
letting go of a shiver, she nodded, slowly, then closed her eyes   
again, listening for the heavy bootsteps that were moving up and   
down the corridor, getting closer and closer to the pair of them.  
  
There were a couple of gunshots, punctuated by screams, as   
those who had not been moved from their cells were dealt with.   
Michelle felt her stomach turning in knots, silently praying for   
some kind of deliverance from this unexpected hell. It came in the  
form of an equally unexpected voice.  
  
"Why, hello there, sugar." The voice was high-pitched....   
That of a teenage girl, or a young woman her own age, but carried a  
surprisingly amorous tone.  
  
"Hey, Captain..." Said the voice of a young man. "Check this  
one out."  
  
"What is it?" The commanding voice of the older man,   
obviously the Captain the other was referring to, was almost drowned  
out by a series of wolf whistles. Surprised, Michelle opened her   
eyes and craned her neck back, looking past Nobuhiro at where a   
group of soldiers, all young men, were collecting. In the middle of  
the group, she could see a flash of blond hair, and the fringe of a  
very short, pleated orange skirt. The group parted as the Captain  
strode towards them, and Michelle could see an amazingly attractive  
young woman, dressed in what could only have been the fuku of a   
sailorsenshi with her arms wrapped lovingly around the neck of one   
of the young soldier's shoulders.  
  
"Now what did I say? For God's sake.... She's just another  
one of these freaks. Take her out like the rest, don't play around  
just because she's a nice-looking piece of skirt." The Captain   
sighed, shaking his head. He then lifted his rifle, aiming it at  
the young woman.  
  
Then she turned to face him. The smile on her face was so   
beautiful, it could be said to be angelic. Michelle felt her heart  
skip a beat, and didn't know why. It was not as if she was   
attracted to women.... But for some reason, she just couldn't help  
looking at this blond.  
  
And it seemed that the Captain was struck by the same   
sensation, as he lowered his rifle. The young woman let go of the  
soldier she was holding, and stepped up to the Captain. "Now,   
sweetie.... Why would you want to hurt little ol' me?" She put her  
arms around the Captain and kissed him square on the mouth. The   
soldiers standing around them let out whoops of amusement and   
whistles as the Captain's resilience seemed to fade away, dropping   
his rifle and placing his arms around her.  
  
Just at that moment, Michelle felt her hair being grabbed.   
Her head was forced around and made to look into the eyes of the   
female soldier she had heard, earlier. "Well, what do we have,   
here?" The woman sneered, pointing the business end of a rifle in  
Michelle's face. "Guess we did miss one or two, after all."  
  
"NOW!" Michelle heard Nobuhiro shout. The woman looked up in  
surprise as the sumo wrestler leapt to his feet, bowling her over.   
Michelle was dragged partly upwards, with the chain, as the woman's  
gun fell in front of her. Just at that point, there was a cry of   
horror, coming from the other direction. Michelle could feel what   
had to be waves of energy hitting her in the back as she reached   
down for the gun, scooping it up in her manacled hands, fumbling for  
the trigger.  
  
There were even more cries of fear and horror filling the air  
as the woman regained her composure and dealt Nobuhiro a blow   
underneath the chin, trying to toss him aside. The action caused   
the chain to jerk Michelle's arms again, and one of her fingers was  
squeezed onto the trigger, blowing chunks out of the woman's head.  
Nobuhiro managed to get to his feet again, out of the range of the   
rifle, as Michelle managed to uncatch her finger.  
  
"Well, that would have to be a rather fortunate...." Nobuhiro  
started to say as he looked down at his companion, but was   
distracted by what was going on behind them. "The chain...."  
  
"What?" Michelle replied, her ears still ringing from the   
gunshots. Nobuhiro pointed down at the chain that still bound them  
to the victims of the soldiers' massacre.  
  
"Shoot the chain. Get us free of this place, damn quick!" He  
swallowed, if not in fear, then certainly in trepidation. Michelle  
turned to see what he was looking at, and almost dropped the rifle   
in horror.  
  
The blond was.... She was EATING the soldiers. They were   
bound to her by what seemed to be a field of energy, and were slowly  
degenerating, flesh falling from their bodies and floating like a   
miasma towards her, being ingested by an osmotic process. The   
blond's eyes were closed, her mouth open in ecstasy as she held her  
hands in the air, allowing the energy to crackle freely around her.  
  
"Succubae Major...." Nobuhiro hissed. "The Prime-class   
Succubus. A highly powered bestial.... They lure their victims in   
through a combination of physical beauty and magical energy, then   
shred them up and feed on them, body and soul." He turned back to   
Michelle. "Shoot the damn chain, or we'll be dessert."  
  
Suffice to say, Michelle complied.  
  
----o  
  
Aoi and Kaji stared, through the rain-spattered window of the  
older detective's car, at the large, almost gothic frontage of the  
Coven's compound. Aoi sighed and sat back in her seat. "They do   
like to put on a show, don't they?"  
  
"Hmm?" Kaji looked aside at her. She giggled.  
  
"Mysterious, spooky castles on a dark and stormy night. I   
don't think we could have made the setting more fitting for our   
entrance." She paused. "Just how are we going to get in, anyway?"  
  
Kaji chuckled and tapped the side of his nose. "I have my   
ways." He rubbed his hands together. "Remember those times I told  
you, about having run-ins with various secret societies and cults,   
during my short tenure with the investigative branch?"  
  
"The Coven of Atrocity was one of them, yes." Aoi nodded.  
  
"Well, I did leave a few connections in each of those groups,  
just to keep an eye on things.... You know, make sure I'm around   
when the time is right to take action."  
  
Aoi snorted. "Yes, well, you were never given the opportunity  
to take advantage of your 'connections', were you?" Kaji looked   
daggers at her.  
  
"Oh ye of little faith. Just because I was dumped in a dead-  
end posting like the SIU doesn't mean I gave up on them." He opened  
his door smiling at her. "As you shall see, if you would be so kind  
as to follow me...."  
  
"Do I have a choice?" Aoi screwed her nose up at him.  
  
"Only if you want your boyfriend back." Kaji snickered as   
Aoi's face went red.  
  
"He is NOT my boyfriend."  
  
"Oh yes, I forgot.... You're Kikotsuka Aoi, the virgin queen   
of the SIU, obsessed with nothing but your career and finding the   
Sailorsenshi, something which you haven't been very good at, either   
way."  
  
"Now I can see why your wife left you." Aoi huffed. "You   
have the sensitivity of a shit-soaked brick."  
  
"That's a good one.... Gotta use it for future reference."   
Kaji grinned. Aoi shook her head and opened her door as Kaji fully  
stepped from his car, staring depressively at the rain. "This   
weather just doesn't seem to be letting up, does it?"  
  
"Whooooo...." Aoi wriggled her fingers at him over the roof   
of the car after stepping out. "Full of great foreboding, I'm   
sure."  
  
She wasn't all that impressed when he failed to answer.  
  
  
END OF PART 35  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Next Chapter - "Last Train to Nemesis"  
  
_________  
/ @ \ DDFA (The Right Dishonourable Mark A Page)  
/ / ^ ^ \ \ ayanami@internode.on.net  
/\  
\/ \/  
\___________/  
/_/ \_\ PU  
  
Version 1.0 - Wednesday, 6th January 1999 


	36. SIU part 36: Last Train to Nemesis

--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page)  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon and Silent Mobius are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Kia  
Asamiya, Michitaka Kikuchi, Bandai, Studio Tron, Kadokawa and   
Kodansya. All other characters were thought up by me.  
  
Part Thirtysix  
Last Train to Nemesis  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
There were rumblings of thunder as Martin Fitchner opened his  
eyes, to find that the world was no brighter than when he had closed  
them. The cumulative effects of alcohol consumption over the period  
of a night were such that, despite the immense desire to just   
collapse and fall asleep, sleep was the last thing he was capable of  
achieving.  
  
It had always been that way. The disturbance the chemical   
would cause to his mind, due to its unorthodox, and damaging, method  
of affecting the brain, wouldn't allow him the blessed void that he  
so desired. And right now, it was making him feel rather nauseous.  
  
Tumbling out of bed, he scrambled across his bedroom floor,  
through the doorway, across the hall and into the small bathroom,   
where the lavatory was situated. It was sods law that he had   
anything left in his stomach to deposit there, but the action not   
only made him feel immeasurably better, it also succeeded in   
clearing his mind.  
  
After ten minutes of leaning against the toilet bowl,   
recovering, he flushed it and stood, stepping over to the bathroom  
sink, where he turned on the cold tap and splashed water into his  
face. Several times. He considered whether to turn on the mirror  
light, set above the sink, but decided that the sudden burst of   
light would, right now, send him scampering back for the bowl, so he  
leaned on the sink, staring at himself in the mirror in the pale   
glow of streetlight, gently flowing through the bathroom window.  
  
  
Getting so old, now, he thought to himself. His once-noble  
features were worryworn and lined beyond repair. He'd not been   
overly good-looking as a young man, but he had been very   
distinctive. Nobody could mistake him for someone else. How had  
he come to be in such a state?  
  
He placed a hand against his face, running it along the   
bristly, unshaven surface. He closed his eyes and shivered, thought  
not from the cold. He felt hot. Extremely hot, his body radiating  
a great deal of heat into the cold air. No, it wasn't the cold that  
made him shiver. It was all the years that had disappeared, in his  
search for his daughter. All those years, vanishing as if they were  
nothing. The older he got, the less a year seemed to be. Time's  
importance had dissipated before his eyes, and so had the increase  
in wear against his body.  
  
It was too much to think about for him at that moment, and he  
turned, shuffling back out of the bathroom, making his way back   
towards the inviting folds of his bed. And he paused, when he   
noticed that there was someone standing in the darkness of the   
bedroom.  
  
For one insane moment, he thought it was Michelle. The figure  
certainly fitted Michelle's physical stature and body shape. At   
least, that he could remember. The slightly curled, shoulder-length  
hair could also have been hers, give or take some styling. It was   
too much for him to expect, however, and he backed up towards the   
doorway as the figure turned to face him. Even within the darkness,  
he could see it was not her face.  
  
"Martin Fitchner, I presume?" The husky voice, in an accented  
english, crossed the room with something akin to a physical wave.   
He could feel an almost energetic presence in the sound that the   
young woman made. He could also smell a kind of perfume.... Sweet  
and sharp, at the same time. It almost made him turn from the   
figure, trying not to let the perfume overcome him.  
  
"Who are you?" He said in a hoarse whisper. The woman closed  
her eyes, shaking her head, and turning towards the bedroom window.   
She made her way towards it, touching the gossamer strands of the   
curtain with her right hand. He could see she was wearing a large,  
flowing coat, with a multiple number of buckles and belts, many of   
which appeared to have no purpose, hanging off at odd angles, the   
coat itself sitting clear of her bare shoulders.  
  
"I wondered if you would be home." She said, ignoring his  
question. "Not that I even knew who you were until a few moments   
ago. But then, that's the way of things." She turned to Martin,   
sighing and brushing down the front of her minidress. "I am lead to  
believe that this is the height of fashion on the other side. It's  
so hard to work out what is what over there."  
  
"I asked you who you were!" Fitchner swallowed, clenching his  
right hand into a fist. "How did you get into my house?" The woman  
blinked, looking at him in surprise.  
  
"You want to know who I am?" She frowned. "Ah, yes. That is  
a rather good question. 'Who am I? Why am I here?' Questions like  
these have been asked by an innumerable number of sentient beings   
since time began, and some period before that. Did you know?" The  
woman stepped forward, gesturing with her arms outstretched. "But  
I'm afraid I don't have the time to be philosophical, so I'm going   
to have to come up with some form of nomenclature with which you can  
identify me. Even if I'm not quite sure who, precisely, I am, or   
what I am, but I am sure I will get used to it." She smiled, and  
Fitchner was certain he'd come face to face with a lunatic.  
  
"Just tell me how you came to be inside my house." He   
growled, and immediately put a hand to his head, feeling the pain of  
one to many decibels.  
  
"What? You DON'T want to know who I am, now?" The woman   
sighed, feeling a little confused. "Will you get your priorities  
straight? I'd really like to know what I'm supposed to answer, and  
in which order." She took a breath and clapped her hands together.  
"My name is...." She paused. "Woah.... I forgot." She paused   
again. "No, actually, I DO know who I am. Sherilyn Meehan. That's  
the one! Sherilyn Meehan. Kinda doesn't roll off the tongue all   
that easily. What do you say?"  
  
"I don't really know what to say." Fitchner decided he'd had   
enough of this, and stepped back out of his bedroom, looking left   
and right for a possible quick exit.  
  
"What are you doing?" Sherrie blinked in surprise. "You're   
not going to run away, are you?" She sighed, putting a hand to her  
forehead. "I tried to talk to this chick.... A blond in the Sacred   
House compound. You've heard of the Sacred House, haven't you? I   
used to belong to them. They're the opponents of the Coven of   
Atrocity, which your daughter belongs to...."  
  
"My daughter?" Fitchner paused, then shook his head. "I   
don't know what you're talking about. I don't have much money or   
items of value, but you can take what you want."  
  
"Oh REALLY!" Sherrie threw her hands into the air. "If I   
were here to steal anything, do you think I'd bother to introduce  
myself. You really are the most annoying, frustrating man. Anyway,  
I tried talking to this blond chick, and she freaked out, much as   
you're doing, now. She started to climb the walls of her holding  
cell. I mean, I really wanted to give her her freedom. I offered  
it to her, in exchange for a quick trip to Nemesis, to control her  
condition, but did she listen to me? Noooooo. She just went all  
spastic and all. Now, you're partly human, yourself, and your  
condition is settled enough for you NOT to have need of a quick trip  
to Nemesis. But I CAN offer you the safe return of your daughter,  
just as long as you help me."  
  
"You keep talking about my daughter." Fitchner growled as his  
hand slipped behind the wall, grasping for something. "What do you  
know about my daughter that I don't?"  
  
"Well, right now she's being held by the Sacred House. She   
was captured, you see. I tried to eat the only person I ever had  
something for, and both she and her fat friend, name of Watanabe  
Nobuhiro, tried to stop me. Not very successfully, I have to say,  
which is one of the reasons why she was captured. She's not much of  
a psychic esper, otherwise she'd have seen it coming. But still,   
she was enough of one to be picked up by the recruiting guys of the  
Coven. Now, I take it you've received a phone call from her in the  
last couple of days? That was before she was caught. A lot has   
gone on in Tokyo over the last couple of days. Amazing, I know, but  
it IS a big city. Twentyfive million people, I'm lead to believe.  
That's quite a lot of snacks for the Lucifer Folk when Gigelf   
Liqueur opens up the portal between Earth and Nemesis. Something we  
have to stop." She paused. "You're not getting it, are you? I can  
see, in your eyes, you're just not getting it."  
  
"Too damn right I'm not getting it." Fitchner growled, and   
lifted up the walking cane that had been sitting against the wall,  
just outside his bedroom. He had used the cane after a small   
accident left him partially incapacitated some two years previous,  
and it had been sitting there ever since. He swung the cane   
downwards, towards Sherrie's head, and was surprised to find that  
it continued its travels to the floor without actually having hit  
anything.  
  
He stared at the cane as it hit the floor, his eyes wide with  
surprise, and then looked up to where Sherrie SHOULD have been   
standing. He dropped the cane when he found he was completely alone  
in the room, turned back for the hallway and started for the   
loungeroom in fright. Just as he passed through the doorway to the  
lounge, an arm shot out across his path and collected him across the  
chin, making him fly, feet forward, for the middle of the room's   
floor.  
  
Even before he had the time to be dazed, a hand gripped his  
throat and he felt himself being lifted, bodily, and slammed back-  
first into the nearest wall, his feet a good few inches off the   
ground. He opened his eyes to see Sherrie's angry face, snarling at  
him with the most enormously carnivorous teeth.  
  
"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?" Sherrie shouted, spit flying from her  
mouth into his face, making him wince with disgust. "I was being  
nice to you. Do you know how difficult it is for me to be nice to  
people. People just piss me off, most of the time. That blond   
chick really pissed me off, but I thought it best not to upset a  
high-level Succubus on the cusp of becoming something really nasty.  
Now, you've upset ME and I've become something really nasty. It   
just goes to show you that being civil to people DOES have its   
benefits. What do you say? I'm sure you've got something to say,  
you have that look on your face that tells me you've got something   
to say. Well, you better say it, and it better be good, because I'm  
no longer in the mood to treat you with kid gloves, anymore." She  
rested her other hand against her hip as Fitchner scrabbled to free  
the throatlock she had on him. Her strength had to have been   
enormous, as despite being a great deal physically larger than her,  
he couldn't even move any of her fingers. "What ARE you doing, you  
stupid man?" She spat. "You aren't going to get away from me, now.  
That COULD have happened, had you not tried to hit me with that   
cane. But I'm afraid it's too late for that." She let him go, and  
he dropped to the floor, holding his throat and gagging.  
  
"Now, I want you to find a certain person for me, and bring   
them to me. It shouldn't be hard. She's been in a certain   
apartment for a few hours, now, and it isn't likely that she'll be  
moving, anytime soon." Sherrie started to pace the loungeroom,   
folding her arms behind her. "This person is quite important, as   
she can produce copious quantities of a substance, best described as  
'bad blood'. Most human beings wouldn't understand the term. It is  
a substance that is easy for my kind to love, however. It is what   
makes us what we are, even though its effects on the human biology  
can be quite.... catastrophic."  
  
"Explain... to me... again.... Just who the hell are you?"   
Fitchner looked up at her, still rubbing his throat. Sherrie turned  
to him, rolling her eyes.  
  
"Oh, puhleeeeze!" She stepped over and sat on her haunches,   
in front of him. "My name is Sherilyn Meehan. I used to be a   
member of the Sacred House, which is the opposing group to what is  
called the Coven of Atrocity. Your daughter is a member of the   
Coven.... The 'cult' that she became caught up in. However, she  
has since been captured by the Sacred House, and is in a great deal  
of jeopardy. I can rescue your daughter for you, whilst you pick  
up an old friend of mine, and we can meet back here. Is that   
understood?" Fitchner nodded, mutely. "Goooood. It's nice to see  
you're using that wet brain of yours, for once." She grinned. "Be  
interesting to see how your daughter reacts to such a wreck of a  
father. Maybe she'd reject you."  
  
Fitchner made to grab the collar of her coat in anger, but  
Sherrie was faster, gripping both his wrists, tightly. He shivered,  
trying to regain some composure. "I've spent YEARS looking for my  
daughter. I can't even begin to think that way. And I don't need  
someone like you mocking both myself and my efforts."  
  
"Whooooo...." Sherrie sneered with contempt. "You know what  
I'd do if I found my old man, alive? I'd kill him. Spread him like  
a fine paste, play with his entrails." She sniffed. "Never knew MY  
old man. I wonder why your daughter rejected YOU."  
  
"She did NOT reject me!" Fitchner shouted.  
  
"Oh yes she did."  
  
"She did NOT!" He was becoming frustrated with her seemingly  
mocking tone. She shook her head, pressing her face into his.  
  
"If she DIDN'T reject you, why hasn't she contacted you, all  
this time?" Sherrie let him go and stood, stepping away from him   
and falling back into an armchair as he stared into space, chewing  
over what she'd said. Crossing her legs, Sherrie continued,   
gesturing at him with a hand. "You can say that, getting caught up  
in a cult the likes of the Coven might mean that she has no   
opportunity to get in touch with you. Senior members of the cult  
may suppress her ability to do such. But your daughter has been   
free to do her own thing, more or less, for a good number of years,  
now. And she has only JUST contrived to call you. I'd say that was  
a pretty good sign that she has rejected you, wouldn't you say?"  
  
"I can't bring myself to believe that."  
  
"No, of course you can't." Sherrie sneered. "You've spent   
too many of your precious few years of life searching for her. And  
doing so in all the wrong places. Whatever made you think the   
Dietman Manakuto was going to help you?  
  
"Dietman Manakuto?" Fitchner stared at her, nonplused.   
"He's been one of the few people to have supportive of my efforts,  
right from the start."  
  
"Dietman Manakuto has known the whereabouts of your daughter,  
right from the start. He's been the biggest suppressor of   
information, leading to some clue of her whereabouts." Sherrie   
sighed. "He is an associate member of the Coven. But even more,   
he's a member of a fanatical rightist group within the Diet,   
attempting to use the Coven as a method of gaining power. He's  
never been concerned for your plight, and that of your daughter. As  
far as he's concerned, you're just a pair of ugly foreigners,   
despoiling Japanese soil by being here. It's amazing how this   
search for your daughter has made you blind to the obvious fucking  
truth."  
  
Fitchner stared, blankly, tears filling his eyes. "He knew...  
where she was... all this time?"  
  
"Yes." Sherrie looked away. "He might have even been   
responsible for her disappearance to begin with. Although, trying   
to keep his distance from their activities, it isn't likely. Still,  
he gets an update from their recruiting offices quite regularly. It  
is possible that he became involved in your search when he saw her  
name on some of the paperwork." She paused. "I wonder if he   
receives similar paperwork from the Sacred House? Possibly. Then  
he'd know all about me, too. Scary thought, someone like that   
knowing things about you. It makes you wonder, doesn't it, just   
what officialdom keeps about you on their records, doesn't it?"  
  
  
"I don't believe it." The tears now ran down his face. "I  
just CAN'T believe it. It's too much... to think about."  
  
"Yes, I suppose it would be." Sherrie pondered for a few  
moments. "It was almost too much for me, when I was told what had  
happened to my dumb slut of a sister. Got herself caught up with   
the Sacred House, then they had to kill her, because her condition  
got all pear-shaped. Mine did, too. But at least she left me   
little markers, to find my way back into this world. Took her a   
couple of years, our time, to do it. In truth, it wouldn't have  
taken her any time at all. I probably stumbled around in Nemesis  
for just as long. Time, and its perception, is almost a non-issue  
over there." She paused. "It seemed like years, to me. Probably  
only a couple of hours, here. Now I've got to find her. The stupid  
bitch has stumbled into this world, intending to stop Gigelf from  
opening up that portal, without really thinking about HOW she is   
going to do it."  
  
"WHO CARES ABOUT YOUR SISTER?" Fitchner spat. "Who gives a  
toss? She can suffer, for all I care. I want Michelle. I want her  
back. I've wanted her back for years, and now you're telling me   
that, not only might she have NOT wanted to come back, but the   
person to have offered me the most help in finding her has known   
where she was the WHOLE time?"  
  
"I CARE ABOUT MY SISTER, PRICK!" Sherrie leaned forward, her  
hands out like claws. "I FUCKING WELL CARE! As far as I'm   
concerned, your daughter can die a horrible, violent death. I'd do  
it myself, if only for the PLEASURE value." She pointed a finger at  
him. "Remember this... The ONLY person you can NOW trust, to get  
your daughter back, is ME! Annoy me enough, and I might just run   
off and EAT her, with plenty of ketchup to add to taste."  
  
"You're sick." Fitchner looked at her, disgustedly. "And   
insane. How can I believe any of what you're telling me?"  
  
"Because I'm not giving you any choice. You're going to   
collect my friend, and I your daughter. In one piece, or not." She  
jumped up from her chair, full of nervous energy. "Well, you can't  
go the way you are at the moment." She snapped her fingers, and he  
suddenly found himself washed, dressed and groomed. He stared down   
at the dark grey suit he was wearing with surprise and disbelief.  
  
"How the hell did you...."  
  
"I used a little bit of magic, okay?" Sherrie sniffed. "You  
know.... Abracadabra and all that stuff. It's not so hard, when   
you know what to do. Of course, you're just a pathetic little lower  
class halfbreed, so you wouldn't even be able to do much, even if   
you knew what to do. Here, take this." She handed him a small   
object, small, roundish and dark, made of what looked like ceramic   
or resin, with a plastic dark-red button in the centre. The button  
glowed every so often. Fitchner stood and looked at Sherrie,   
questioningly. "It's a recall button. It'll take you and my friend  
slash friends the moment you make contact with them. Just press the  
button. Simple, really. Even you should be able to work it out."  
  
"I didn't say I was going to help you." Fitchner mumbled,   
shaking his head. Sherrie grinned, wickedly.  
  
"I didn't say I was going to give you a choice." She snapped  
her fingers, again, and Fitchner disappeared from the house.   
Crossing her arms behind her back, she paced the loungeroom.   
"Bugger. I forgot to tell him what her name was and what she looked  
like. Ah well...." She lifted her left hand up and snapped her   
fingers again, disappearing herself from the house.  
  
----o  
  
Michelle ran for her life, Nobuhiro not that far behind.  
  
They were sure the blond.... The Succubae Major, as Nobuhiro  
had described her, was not far behind, looking for a follow up to   
the meal of soldiers. Along dark corridors, they staggered, trying  
to wrestle their wrists from the cuffs they hadn't had time to   
remove when Michelle had shot away the holding chain that had kept   
them bound in the corridor. Unfortunately, that constituted the   
last of the rounds in the rifle that Michelle had acquired, and she  
was forced to dump it and take flight when the Succubus had finished  
with the soldiers.  
  
She didn't want to look back. She could remember the   
sensations she had felt when she had looked at the Succubus. A kind  
of seductive power, able to dazzle the mind of almost ANY living   
being. Michelle had felt herself wanting to make love to the   
Succubus, a sudden, intense rush of lust that she had never before  
felt for another woman. It disturbed her, how easily she had been  
won over by what was nothing more than a wave of mental energy. She  
had used such mental waves, before, in her job as a member of the   
Coven... The power of seduction was a powerful tool, especially   
when it came to the process of recruitment. She hated it when it   
such things were used against her.  
  
  
Neither knew where they were, nor did they care if they bumped  
into another group of soldiers, like the last lot. As far as they   
were concerned, it would make a good distraction, giving them the   
opportunity to put room between themselves and the Succubus. If the  
soldiers didn't shoot them, of course.  
  
Michelle spied a set of double doors, slightly ajar, just   
ahead to her left, and made a screeching turn to run through them...  
And bowled through a young, blond-haired girl, which scared the   
bejeezuz out of her. The girl gave a shocked cry as she landed on  
top of her, and for several moments, they stared at each other,   
Michelle relaxing when she saw it wasn't the Succubus, but another  
girl of similar appearance.  
  
"What.... Who are you?" The girl said, eventually.  
  
"Uh... Sorry." Michelle got to her feet and stared around at  
what appeared to be a room with a swimming pool. Standing near her   
was a tan-skinned woman with dark-green hair and specks of paint   
through her clothes, and a large ball of flesh with a whole lot of   
eyes. "Oh My God! It's a.... It's a MONSTER!" Michelle cried out  
as she turned back for the door, and ended back on top of the blond  
when she ran, face-forward, into Nobuhiro.  
  
"Quick! All of you! Run! There is something nasty coming   
down the corridor!" Nobuhiro shouted, then looked down at Michelle,  
who was dazed, being pushed aside by the blond.  
  
"What is coming down the corridor? Who are you, anyway?" The  
blond demanded, just as the green-haired woman kneeled down beside   
her.  
  
"They are right, Princess.... We must get out of here,   
quickly. Or..." The woman swallowed. The blond frowned at her,  
confused.  
  
"Or what?" The blond got to her feet as Nobuhiro knelt down  
to Michelle, trying to pick her up with his cuffed wrists.  
  
  
There was a soft, high-pitched moaning sound, coming from   
outside the swimming pool room, and Nobuhiro gestured to Michelle.  
"Help me with her. I can't pick her up." The blond blinked, then  
leaned down, taking Michelle underneath the arms, dragging her back   
past the woman, following the ball of flesh, which had decided to   
make its way to the rear of the room when it heard the noise.  
  
"Cthulu!" The blond shouted. "Be prepared to gate us out of  
here." The ball of flesh stopped as the blond reached it, giving a  
couple of burbling grunts. "What do you mean, you can't?"  
  
"What is that?" Nobuhiro gestured at Cthulu with his hands as  
both he and the green-haired woman ran up behind the blond.  
  
"That might be our only way out of here." The green-haired   
woman looked at him with her scarlet eyes.  
  
"Don't I know you from somewhere?" Nobuhiro frowned. The   
woman tried to avoid his gaze.  
  
"That isn't important, right now." She mumbled. "Princess,  
what is wrong?"  
  
"Cthulu says there is a suppression field in this room. He  
is unable to gate." The blond looked at the green-haired woman, her  
face a mask of tragedy. Her eyes opened wide as they heard the   
doors squeal open, wide. "P... Pluto.... It's..."  
  
Setsuna turned to see what Usagi was looking at, then spun   
around, trying to block her view. "Don't look at it, Princess. It  
is no longer what you think it to be."  
  
"But.... But Pluto...." Usagi dropped Michelle onto the   
floor, where the girl made stunned groaning noises. Nobuhiro knelt  
down to her, dragging her back towards Cthulu, trying to shelter her  
from the thing that had entered the room.  
  
Pluto shouted at Cthulu. "Quickly! Get us out of here, or it  
shall attempt to consume us."  
  
"Bworkle bworkle." Cthulu turned a shade of green. "Gurgle  
snorkle." He started to shiver and shimmer, making strange, ringing  
noises, but could not successfully produce the gate. "BWORKLE!" He  
shouted as he came back into focus.  
  
"What is wrong?" Setsuna's tone became an uncharacteristic,   
high-pitched panic.  
  
"He said there was a suppression field." Usagi tried to push  
past Setsuna. "Let me through! It's just Minako-chan!"  
  
"No it isn't." Setsuna gripped Usagi by the shoulders and   
tried to pull her back, but Usagi was a hell of a lot stronger than  
she expected her to be, wriggling free and making her way forward,  
towards the figure of her one-time friend and fellow senshi. Minako  
was standing in the doorway, holding out her hands and smiling.   
"Minako-chan...." Usagi paused, halfway along the pool's length,   
feeling strange waves of energy striking her.  
  
"PRINCESS! GET AWAY FROM HER!" Setsuna cried, trying to   
follow her, but finding she was unable to move her legs. Setsuna   
looked down at her legs, wondering what was holding them back.   
Visions of nightmares, of being unable to run away from horrible   
things of the id, entered her mind as her feet slowly dragged across  
the floor towards the one person in the world she had dedicated   
herself to protecting, feeling weak and impotent as the figure of  
Minako floated towards Usagi.  
  
  
Usagi, for her part, started to glow, as the waves of energy  
struck her with increasing force. Her clothes exploded from her   
form, being replaced with ribbons that emanated from the locket on  
her chest. With another wave, she was no longer Usagi, but   
Serenity, covered in the flowing white robes that represented the   
ancient and future princess, her hair fading from gold to silver in  
seconds.  
  
Her hands rose, to accept Minako in her arms. "Come to me,   
Venus." She said in soft tones. "I will make you better."  
  
"Prin... cess...." Minako smiled, wrapping her arms around  
Serenity's form as waves of consuming energy surrounded them, mixed  
with a bright white light that blinded the others....  
  
  
END OF PART 36  
  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
Next Chapter - "Elementary Elementals"  
  
_________  
/ @ \ DDFA (The Right Dishonourable Mark A Page)  
/ / ^ ^ \ \ ayanami@internode.on.net  
/\  
\/ \/  
\___________/  
/_/ \_\ PU  
  
  
VERSION 1.0 - Tuesday, 25th May 1999 


	37. SIU part 37: Elementary Elementals

S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit  
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page)  
  
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi  
Sailormoon and Silent Mobius are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Kia  
Asamiya, Michitaka Kikuchi, Bandai, Studio Tron, Kadokawa and   
Kodansya. All other characters were thought up by me.  
  
Part Thirtyseven  
Elementary Elementals  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
The first thing that struck Aoi, about the entrance hall of   
the Coven's headquarters, was how very grand-guignol it all looked,  
perhaps even gothic. She hated gothic. As far as she was   
concerned, this was Japan, and gothic had absolutely no place being  
here.  
  
The ceiling was so high up that she was sure there wasn't   
one.... That the darkness up there was the sky. Surrounded by   
doors and mirrored windows, reflecting her underwhelmed presence,  
she waited as Kaji negotiated with the guards, through the window  
of the adjoining office, to let them into the heart of the Coven.   
  
Aoi did her best to suppress any nervousness she felt about   
the cult group. Pagan, despite his efforts to introduce himself as   
a member of the Coven, had not actually described what the internal   
machinations were like. Word of mouth, passed along from one cop to  
another, about past investigations into cult group activities and   
raids on cult headquarters had usually been tainted with the lurid  
and the horrific. Visions of young, naked men and women, chained to  
the walls of every corridor, being flogged and starved and molested,  
filled her tired mind.  
  
She yawned. It had been a long time since she'd had any   
decent sleep, and thus was slow in registering Kaji's calls to her.   
She turned to him as he gestured for her to come to him, pointing to  
an open door by the guard office. "They say we can go in, but only   
on visitors passes." Kaji grumbled as she stepped alongside him.  
  
"Better than nothing, I suppose." Aoi whispered as one of the  
guards stepped out through the door, eyeing them over.  
  
"Who is the woman?" The guard, a tall, pale figure, gestured   
to Aoi. "Is she important to you?"  
  
"Well, you can say she is." Kaji harrumphed. "She is my   
partner." The guard turned to Aoi with an expression of contempt.  
  
"Your partner? As in matrimony or otherwise." Both Aoi and   
Kaji almost facefaulted. Seeing the expressions on their faces, the  
guard doubled back. "I'm sorry, but we have to ask these questions.  
The powers that be are most concerned with blood lines and pair   
bonding. If she were to be found to be suitable...."  
  
"If I WAS to be found suitable, my dear friend, I certainly   
wouldn't choose to be some brood mare for your two-bit   
organisation!" Aoi snarled, giving the guard the finger before Kaji  
stepped in front of her, trying to suppress the situation.  
  
"I can assure you, as far as I know she will not be...   
suitable for your purposes." He sweated under the guard's glare.   
"Are we to meet with someone in authority?"  
  
"You will be guided by a special officer, to the limits of   
your entry." The guard gestured to the doorway. "Please step   
through and wait for their arrival in the anteroom." Kaji stared at  
the doorway, the corridor beyond lit only by the light from the   
guard office.  
  
"Why do we have to wait there? I met with... who was it?   
Kuniko... Yes, that was it.... I met Kuniko-san here the last time  
I passed through here." Kaji crossed his arms as Aoi stuck her   
tongue out at the guard, over Kaji's shoulder. The guard turned   
away, icily.  
  
"You can either wait in the anteroom or leave. It is your   
choice." He looked as if he was about to step back through the   
doorway before Aoi brushed past both he and Kaji, huffing.  
  
"What is it with all this unspoken threat stuff? Are you   
people drinking in the bitters, or what?" She stopped by the   
doorway to the office and peered in at the second guard. "So do  
we get nice little badges with 'outsider' marked on them, so we can  
feel REALLY subconscious about being here?" The guard ignored her,  
making her puff up her cheeks in frustration. "HEY, FATBOY! I'M  
TALKING TO YOU!"  
  
"He's only qualified to reply to his superior." The first   
guard followed her through the doorway and stood over her in a   
rather intimidating fashion. Aoi looked up at him, unimpressed.  
  
"And who might his superior be?"  
  
"I am his superior. He shall only speak when I let him."  
  
"You're running a right little fascist state here, aren't you?  
No talking unless your superior allows you to...." Aoi lifted up a  
finger and flicked the guard across the nose. "Tell fatboy to   
speak. I can't stand the way he just sits there, ignoring me."  
  
Kaji was cringing through this little display, and was fully  
expecting the guard to bite her head off at any given moment.   
Certainly, he was making strange little noises as he stared down at  
her, his body shivering with what Kaji could only interpret as   
anger. He knew Aoi would play up like this, at some stage, just not  
so soon.  
  
He was already beginning to accept the possibility that they   
would be turfed out the front door, when the first guard spoke.   
"Niki.... Please give the lady and her friend their badges, and see  
that they are comfortable whilst they await Kuniko-san's arrival."   
The guard was sweating, his face contorting as if the words were   
being forced from his throat. His partner turned and stared at him.  
  
"Sir...?  
  
"Just do as I say. Or she'll... She'll..." Aoi smiled,   
wickedly at the tormented guard, patting him on the shoulder.  
  
"There's a good boy." She turned to Kaji. "So, are you   
coming in or not?" Kaji stared at her and the guard in disbelief,  
his legs moving by themselves as he stepped through the doorway to  
join them. The first guard broke away from Aoi, staggering through  
the doorway into the office as if he had just been placed under an  
immense strain as his subordinate picked out a couple of badges from  
a cabinet, stepping past his partner with a concerned expression to  
hand them over.  
  
"Umm.... Please wear these wherever you go through the   
complex, and stick only to level one security zones. The main   
security office tends to be pretty heavy on people who trespass into  
places they shouldn't be."  
  
Aoi pinned her badge on the front of her top. "I'm quite sure  
we understand the drill. We ARE police officers." She smiled at   
the second guard, making him giggle, nervously.  
  
----o  
  
"PRINCESS! GET AWAY FROM HER!" Setsuna cried, trying to   
follow her, but finding she was unable to move her legs. Setsuna   
looked down at her legs, wondering what was holding them back.   
Visions of nightmares, of being unable to run away from horrible   
things of the id, entered her mind as her feet slowly dragged across  
the floor towards the one person in the world she had dedicated   
herself to protecting, feeling weak and impotent as the figure of  
Minako floated towards Usagi.  
  
  
Usagi, for her part, started to glow, as the waves of energy  
struck her with increasing force. Her clothes exploded from her   
form, being replaced with ribbons that emanated from the locket on  
her chest. With another wave, she was no longer Usagi, but   
Serenity, covered in the flowing white robes that represented the   
ancient and future princess, her hair fading from gold to silver in  
seconds.  
  
Her hands rose, to accept Minako in her arms. "Come to me,   
Venus." She said in soft tones. "I will make you better."  
  
"Prin... cess...." Minako smiled, wrapping her arms around  
Serenity's form as waves of consuming energy surrounded them, mixed  
with a bright white light that blinded the others. Setsuna held a  
hand across her eyes in horror.  
  
"PRINCESS!" She cried out, in grief, as both figures   
disappeared within the glowing energy. Then there was a cry, and   
the energy exploded outwards, literally blowing the room wide open.  
Cthulu went rolling out into the courtyard, beyond, letting out   
burbled cries of fear and terror as Nobuhiro and Michelle, having   
grasped hold of his sides, rolled along with him. Only Setsuna was   
able to stand her ground as the blast subsided.  
  
At the center of the blast, a figure fell to her knees.   
Setsuna took her hand away, and was stunned to see that the figure  
was that of Usagi.  
  
She tried her legs once more, finding them to be free of   
whatever invisible bond that held them, and she ran over to Usagi  
before the girl fell back, catching her naked form in time.  
  
  
The cement dust that filled the air was blown away in the   
wind, causing Usagi to cough as her eyes fluttered open. "Minako-  
chan..." She whispered, registering Setsuna's presence, as if for  
the first time. "Pluto...."  
  
"Princess." Setsuna swallowed. "Why do you ALWAYS put   
yourself into danger, time and time again?" Usagi put a hand to  
Setsuna's face, thinking the woman was about to break out into   
tears.  
  
"I'm sorry." Usagi whispered. "It was Minako-chan. I had  
to go to her. She's my friend." She paused. "It WAS the reason I  
came here. To rescue her from these people."  
  
"I told you... It is too late for her." Setsuna looked   
around, nervously. "Maybe not now. What did you do just then?"  
  
"I performed a Moon Healing Meditation on her. I could hear  
her voice, calling out to me.... She wanted me to rescue her, from  
what was happening to her. It was the only thing I could think of."  
Usagi swallowed. "Where is she? Where is Minako-chan?"  
  
Setsuna shivered, trying to avoid eye contact. "She's dead,  
Princess." A long silence followed that statement. Usagi looked   
away, an odd smile coming to her face.  
  
"You're kidding me, right? I cured her. It's what she wanted  
me to do. It's what I should have done from the start. She should   
still be here." Usagi tried to sit up on her own, but found she was  
too weak to move. "Right? I did the right thing, yes?"  
  
"You... did the right thing." Setsuna took a long breath.   
"You saved her from the pain of the transformation."  
  
"So she should still be here." An edge of panic crept into  
Usagi's voice. "I couldn't save Mako-chan. But I had the   
opportunity to save Minako-chan. SO WHERE IS SHE?" Usagi started  
to wriggle, trying to look around. "MINAKO-CHAAAAAN! MINAKO-  
CHAAAAN! WHERE ARE YOU?" She shouted.  
  
"Shhhh. Not so loud, Princess! We might be discovered..."  
Setsuna placed a hand over Usagi's mouth, but was thrown away by a  
sudden burst of violent energy, Usagi's reserves now starting to  
return. She crawled away from Setsuna, who did not follow her, not  
knowing how to react in this situation.  
  
"MINAAAAKOOO-CHAAAAAAN!" Usagi's voice started to crumble,   
emotion creeping in. "She can't be dead. She just can't be. I  
healed her. I SAVED her."  
  
"You healed her of something that was intrinsically a part of  
her being. All the cells that made up the part of her that was,   
essentially, alien, were destroyed. With them went her human cells,  
scattered to the four winds. She's DEAD, Princess. She evaporated  
the moment you healed her." Setsuna stood as Usagi looked into the  
now-muddied waters of the swimming pool.  
  
"She might be in the pool. In that water, somewhere. We've   
got to help her." Usagi turned and looked at Setsuna. Her eyes   
were tinged with an air of madness, of someone grasping at straws.  
"We've got to do something. It's better than just sitting here,   
isn't it? WELL ISN'T IT?" Tears cascaded from Usagi's eyes as   
Setsuna looked away.  
  
"The best you can hope for... is that her essence returned,  
somehow, to Nemesis. It's happened before." Setsuna started to   
walk away, pausing briefly. "Until you have some clear sign that  
she is alive, we have to accept the fact that she is dead, and is  
never likely to return."  
  
"I CAN'T ACCEPT THAT POSSIBILITY! I WON'T! I ABSOLUTELY  
REFUSE!" Usagi got up on her knees. "I just can't accept... that  
friends of mine... are dead... just like that. They've died before,  
but have come back." She paused, wiping tears away from her eyes.  
"I CURED HER, PLUTO! SHE IS ALIVE! SHE IS SOMEWHERE AROUND HERE!  
SHE IS... SHE IS..."  
  
  
Setsuna watched as Usagi stared at her hands, shivering   
uncontrollably. Slowly, she lifted those hands to her face, and she  
screamed, again and again, thumping her fists into the ground.   
Blood was drawn as she ripped, tore and rended at what remained of   
the concrete and tiles of the poolside.  
  
Setsuna registered the presence of Nobuhiro, Michelle and   
Cthulu, watching nervously over the rubble remains of the rear wall,   
Usagi's throes of temporary madness. "What's gotten into her?"   
Michelle gestured with her hands, still cuffed.  
  
"I don't expect you to understand." Setsuna crossed her arms.  
"It's something that runs far deeper than your very shallow, human  
spirit and experience."  
  
"Sorry I asked." Michelle huffed. "If she continues with   
that, she'll bring a million people with hostile intentions down   
upon us all."  
  
"Well, you tell her that." Setsuna stuck her nose in the air.  
"I doubt you'd be any more successful than I."  
  
"She says 'I' a lot, doesn't she?" Nobuhiro whispered aside  
to Michelle. "Says something about her opinion of herself."  
  
  
Usagi started to settle, curling up into a ball, sobbing.   
Setsuna ignored her watchers and made her way to her side, lifting  
her head into her lap, concerned at the injuries that Usagi had   
committed against herself. She gently stroked Usagi's hair as the  
girl sobbed.  
  
----o  
  
"What was all that about?" Kaji pointed back towards the   
guard office as they were left in the anteroom by themselves. Aoi,  
ignoring him momentarily, looked what appeared to be a small,   
comfortable waiting room over, and flopped down into one of the   
thickly-padded seats, looking up at Kaji with a smile on her face.  
  
"What do you mean?" She sat back, placing her hands in her   
lap. Kaji rolled his eyes and sat down in the opposite seat,   
leaning forward.  
  
"You know what I mean. That guard went all weird when you   
gave him the evil eye.... What the hell was that all about, Aoi?"  
Aoi feigned indifference, waving him away.  
  
"I really don't know WHAT you're talking about, Kaji.... I   
asked him to do something, and he obliged. Hardly surprising."  
  
"It was a miracle he didn't deck you, the WAY you asked him.   
It's a bloody miracle we're still in here, even." He paused. "His  
reaction was NOT normal, Aoi...."  
  
"So what?" Aoi shrugged. "Next thing you know, you'll be   
going on like Pagan about my having some weird kinda power...." Aoi  
paused, putting a finger to her mouth. "I wonder if they'll   
recognise me, here.... They were, supposedly, interested in me."  
  
Kaji frowned. "We're taking a risk, coming here.... You know  
that, of course?"  
  
"Oh, of course." Aoi said, dismissively. "There would be a   
few questions asked if anything were to happen to us, you know?"  
  
"Actually..." Kaji paused, then sat back in his seat, saying  
nothing more.  
  
----o  
  
She licked her lips as she watched the men in the suits   
sweating nervously around the long table. Not that it was hot in   
the room, or anything, in fact quite the opposite. But when plans   
you have made start to come unstuck, then you are bound to feel a   
little nervous.  
  
"Adachi Toran, the President of the Kutamata Corporation, one   
of this nation's largest manufacturers of electronic hardware." She  
turned to Dietman Manakuto. "Kitamaki Wasaki, the Diet's minister   
of Foreign Trade. Kumabuto Hitomaru, General Manager of the Kuto   
construction firm, which has won contracts for some of this   
country's largest building projects, including the bridge system to  
the southern isles and the new plan for the Tokyo Supertower.   
Watabara Shinichi, the General Secretary of the Federal Resources   
Department...."  
  
"I see you know your bigwigs." Manakuto adjusted his tie,   
nervously. "You are acquainted with these gentlemen in some way, I  
take it?" Mercury placed one of her hands on the darkened window of   
the anteroom and tapped the side of her nose with a finger of the   
other. Manakuto got the message quickly. "So, a lady has to keep   
some of her secrets, does she?"  
  
"Lady?" Mercury laughed out loud. "You just be careful what  
you call me." She turned back to the window. "What little nest of  
vipers have these darlings attempted to wipe out that has suddenly  
made them all so worried?" She paused. "The Sacred House, maybe?   
On the orders of someone within the Coven of Atrocity.... As they  
are all members of that dishonorable little group. Or, perhaps,   
associate members, who became such because the Coven uncovered   
secrets they'd preferred to have kept silent...."  
  
"They are members of the Coven, such as myself." Manakuto   
cleared his throat. "You are right that they may not all be   
willing. I, however, am."  
  
"And you're the one who converted these gentlemen over to your  
cause, no?" Mercury stood and stretched. "Well, shall we be   
acquainted? Much as I like the concept of voyeurism, it gets rather  
boring after a while if interesting things stop happening."   
  
  
----o  
  
There was a whirling, wind-like noise as Fitchner found   
himself tumbling along a long, multicoloured tunnel. At the other  
end was a well-lit loungeroom, with a young, light-haired woman   
lying asleep, or unconscious, in a large-ish armchair. He hit the  
carpeted floor of the loungeroom with a solid thump, and lay there,  
dazed and confused, before taking in the fact that he was no longer  
in the comforting surrounds of his own house.  
  
He looked up at the young woman... She was as pale as her   
white, albino-like hair. Deathly pale. For a moment, Fitchner  
considered the possibility that she was, in fact, dead, before he  
saw, much to his relief, that her chest was rising and falling. He  
immediately chided himself for taking notice of her chest for longer  
than was necessary, getting to his feet and taking in his   
surroundings.  
  
Well, it was SOMEBODY'S house, wherever it might be. There   
was an element of the religiously clean about the place. He didn't  
like the anal retentive sorts who would keep their homes absolutely  
spotless, neat and just so, so he immediately felt well put out by   
it all. He then stepped over to the young woman and stared into her  
face, wondering if this was the person that Sherilyn Meehan was   
talking about. The girl who was capable of producing large   
quantities of what she described as 'bad blood'. As far as Fitchner  
was concerned, it didn't look like this girl had enough normal blood  
to suffice, let alone large quantities of the bad stuff. He thought  
it best to check the place out before he decided to nab this girl   
and drag her back with the recall device.  
  
He looked at the small object, sitting in his hand. In the  
greater light of the loungeroom, it looked even stranger than it did   
in his own. Almost as if it were a living thing, the resin-like   
surface pulsing with the button light. But that was impossible, of  
course.... No inanimate object, device, could really be imbued with  
a form of life, could it? With what he'd seen and heard in the last  
half an hour, he was willing to believe almost anything.  
  
  
Moving out of the loungeroom, he peered into what was,   
obviously, the kitchen. The light was on, but there was nobody   
there. There was a door at the far end, obviously leading out into  
whatever constituted a back yard, but it was shut. He stepped over   
and tried it, to find it locked. Shaking his head, he moved back   
out of the kitchen, through the lounge and turned right, into a   
small hallway. There were two doors leading off the hallway, before  
it turned right, leading to a bathroom. The light was on in the   
bathroom, and he could see a dark red stain, like blood, running   
from what had to be the bathtub, across the bathroom floor, into  
the hallway and disappearing in the far bedroom door. Blood. He  
paused, swallowing.... Like a body, being dragged from one room to  
another. A freshly murdered body....  
  
He didn't know if he wanted to see any more, but horrified  
fascination wouldn't allow him to back away. He moved down the   
hallway, towards the bedroom. On the floor of the bedroom, he could  
see towels, all bloodied, dumped in a pile beside the door. There  
was a soft, repeated, wheezing sound coming from deeper within the  
bedroom, and he could see light, cast across its far wall. A   
bedlamp.  
  
Fitchner stopped by the doorway. There was the figure of a  
very pretty young woman, lying on the bed, roughly dressed in a red  
and black kimono. For one horrible moment, Fitchner considered the  
possibility that the red in the kimono was.... He put that thought  
out of his mind as he turned his nose up at the smell of the reeking  
towels.  
  
The wheezing noise was the labored breathing of the young   
woman. Her hands were crossed over her chest, as if trying to hold  
it down. As she did so, there was a soft cracking noise, like   
leather under pressure. The cracking was accompanied by a   
squelching that he found quite stomach-turning, mostly since the   
noise seemed to be coming from the young woman.  
  
Then she spasmed, her back arching, and there was an almighty  
crack. She settled back onto the bed and relaxed, breathing much   
more easily. Fitchner wondered if he should step into the bedroom   
when the young woman opened her eyes and turned to look at him,   
smiling. "Hello." She said, sweetly.  
  
"Hello." He found himself saying back, almost automatically.  
The girl giggled.  
  
"Who are you?" The open innocence of her tone belied the   
bizarre nature of the situation. Fitchner looked around, trying to  
find the words to say.  
  
"I'm... er...." He stammered. "My name is Martin Fitchner.   
Sorry to bother you like this."  
  
"Oh, it's no bother. I'm just rearranging a few ribs. They   
can get all out of shape when my chest opens up. Makes it really   
hard to breathe, you know?"  
  
"I... would imagine so." Fitchner felt like he was going mad.  
"Umm.... You said your chest opened up...."  
  
"Hai." The young woman patted her chest. "It's something   
that happens every so often. Not very pleasant, but it seems to be  
necessary. Why, I don't know. An affliction I was born with,   
probably."  
  
"Tell me.... Do you bleed a lot when your chest opens up?"   
Fitchner asked the question with deliberate slowness. The girl   
seemed surprised.  
  
"Yes, as it happens. That's the reason my chest opens up. A  
lot of bad blood fills up these pouches in my chest, and they just   
have to be emptied. How do you know?"  
  
Fitchner strode into the room, feeling a little more   
confident. "A friend of yours asked me to bring you to her. She   
said you would be someone who produces lots of what she termed to be  
'bad blood'." He put a hand behind the back of his head. "I know   
this must sound kind of silly. I don't really understand what is   
going on, here, myself."  
  
"Ah, I see." The young woman looked away, thinking. "And who  
might this friend of mine be?"  
  
"She said her name was Meehan. Sherilyn Meehan." Fitchner   
held out the recall button. "She asked me to make contact with you,  
and bring you back using this device."  
  
The young woman took a breath and swung her legs over the side  
of the bed, sitting up and studying the device. The action was so  
rapid that it surprised Fitchner. "Very interesting device you have  
there, Fitchner-san. Lucifer Folk bioengineering." She smiled. "A  
form of living technology. Single function, of course. Gating   
retrieval. I wonder if it is able to think as we do...."  
  
Fitchner looked at the device in his hands. "You mean to tell  
me that this is a living thing?"  
  
"Of course it is alive. Can't you see its heart beating?"   
The young woman stood. "Ano.... I haven't introduced myself. My  
name is Hayakawa Arisa." She bowed, politely. "You would be the   
father of one Michelle Fitchner."  
  
"You...." Fitchner paused. "Yes, of course you would know   
who she is." He sighed, closing his eyes. "It's too much to think  
about."  
  
"Of course, Fitchner-san.... Sherrie Meehan could not have   
given you such a device." Fitchner opened his eyes, staring at her  
in surprise.  
  
"Why forever not?"  
  
"Because, Fitchner-san.... Sherrie Meehan is dead." She   
paused. "Or, at the very least, has had her essence sent to   
Nemesis. It is extremely unlikely that she would have been able to  
return in such a short space of time."  
  
"Well, tell her that." Fitchner put the device into the   
pocket of her coat. "She seems to have a lot to talk with you,   
about."  
  
"And I look forward to meeting with this person." Arisa   
tilted her head. "But first.... Will you do the honors, Maria?"  
  
Fitchner didn't know what she was talking about, until he felt  
something come down on the back of his head. Of course, he thought   
as he fell to the floor, there had to be someone else in the house.  
In seconds, he was out like a light.  
  
  
END OF PART 37  
  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
Next Chapter - "Cellular Rejection"  
  
_________  
/ @ \ DDFA (The Right Dishonourable Mark A Page)  
/ / ^ ^ \ \ ayanami@internode.on.net  
/\  
\/ \/  
\___________/  
/_/ \_\ PU  
  
  
VERSION 1.0 - Friday, 28th May 1999 


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